Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected negotiations with Israel amid its attacks on Lebanon, saying it would amount to “imposed surrender” and vowing to continue fighting “without limits.”
“When negotiations with the Israeli enemy are proposed under fire, this is an imposition of surrender,” Qassem said in a televised speech on Wednesday, rejecting negotiations “with an enemy that occupies land and continues daily aggression.”
Furthermore, Hezbollah chief called for “national unity,” which he said can be achieved by the government reversing its March 2 decision to ban the group’s military activities.
Qassem also said that Hezbollah fighters were prepared to continue “without limits” as Lebanon faces two choices; “either surrender and give up our land … or inevitable confrontation and resistance” against Israel.
Hezbollah and Israel reached a ceasefire in 2024 to end hostilities, despite frequent Israeli violations to the agreement. However, the truce collapsed on March 2 when the Lebanese group opened fire at Israel in retaliation for the killing of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, triggering heavy Israeli airstrikes and a ground incursion into border areas.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the Israeli military would seize control of a large swathe of southern Lebanon as part of their campaign against Hezbollah.
The Israeli strikes on Lebanon have so far killed 1,072 people, including at least 121 children and 42 health workers, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The conflict has also displaced over one million people in Lebanon.
