Officials in Hezbollah and the IDF said that their forces are not engaging in the ceasefire that is backed by President Donald Trump.
Lebanon announced the ceasefire on Wednesday after Washington mediated talks between Tel Aviv and Beirut. The truce came after Israel announced plans to bomb the Lebanese capital. President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister and demanded that Tel Aviv call off the attack.
However, the Israeli military and Hezbollah say they will not comply with the ceasefire. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir explained there was “no ceasefire for our forces” in Lebanon, adding that “we are working to maximize the freedom of action that has been granted to us.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Sheik Naim Qassem said the truce was a “roadmap to genocide.” “The result of the absurd, humiliating and shameful direct negotiations — rejected in full by wide segments of the Lebanese people — is the Washington Declaration,” he explained. “Which draws the basic principles that America and Israel see for Lebanon’s submission to the Greater Israel project.”
The Hezbollah leader said that any ceasefire must include a complete end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the withdrawal of the IDF. “The ceasefire must be comprehensive — no division between the south and the rest of Lebanon, and no freedom to kill for the Israeli enemy in Lebanon.” Qassem added, “As long as our villages are not safe, bombed and destroyed and our people killed, the settlements (Israeli northern neighborhoods) will not be safe.”
He went on to thank Iran for its support in negotiations. Tehran has demanded that Washington pressure Tel Aviv to implement a ceasefire in Lebanon before bringing the Middle East war to an end.
Fighting between Hezbollah and the IDF continued on Thursday.
