The leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, Naïm Qassem, announced this Friday, November 29, his intention to cooperate with the Lebanese army to guarantee respect for the ceasefire with Israel. This declaration marks his first public intervention since the truce came into force on Wednesday November 27.
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The truce, which ended more than a year of cross-border hostilities and two months of open war between the two belligerents, is already being tested: the Israeli army announced on Friday November 29 that it had carried out an airstrike against Hezbollah pro-Iranian in the south of Lebanon. “ Coordination between the resistance and the Lebanese army will be at a high level to implement the terms of the agreement ” of ceasefiresponsored by Washington and Paris, assured the leader of Hezbollah in a pre-recorded speech.
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The plan calls for a withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon within 60 days. This area, which it entered on September 30 following a massive bombing campaign against Hezbollah, must be gradually evacuated. In return, Hezbollah must retreat north of the Litani River, approximately 30 km from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south, in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire. Only the Lebanese army and peacekeepers will be authorized to operate in this region.
“ Let no one bet on problems or conflict with the army “, declared Naïm Qassem, who succeeded Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Israeli strike. “ The resistance will be ready to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of Lebanon’s weakness with our partners (…) and first and foremost the army “, he continued, pledging to contribute to ” strengthen Lebanon’s defensive capabilities “. He also took advantage of a “ big victory ” on Israelaffirming that the latter had been prevented “ to destroy Hezbollah, and to annihilate the Resistance or weaken it “.
Threat of a intensive war »
“ Recently, terrorist activities and the movement of a mobile rocket launcher were detected in southern Lebanon “, the Israeli army had indicated earlier, publishing on X a video showing a strike on a slowly driving truck.
For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu, warned that a “ intensive war » would be launched in the event of a violation of the truce. In response, the Lebanese army accused Israel of multiple violations of the agreement and began deploying troops and armor in the south of the country.
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country supports the Lebanese army along with the United States, urged a cessation ” immediate » of all the « contrary actions » to the ceasefire agreement. He made the remarks Thursday during talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Nabih Berri, an ally of the Hezbollah.
In his speech, Naïm Qassem reaffirmed Hezbollah’s support for Palestinespecifying that this commitment “ will continue by different means », without specifying the details. At the start of the war in the Gaza Striptriggered on October 7, 2023 by an unprecedented attack by Hamas, Hezbollah had opened a front of support for the Palestinian movement against Israel. At the time, Hezbollah said it would stop its attacks only when the conflict in Gaza ended.
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