Hezbollah chief says truce can’t be one-sided, vows to respond to Israel attacks

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Saturday that the ongoing 10-day truce with Israel cannot be one-sided, vowing that his fighters would respond to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

“A ceasefire means a complete cessation of all hostilities. Because we do not trust this enemy, the resistance fighters will remain in the field with their hands on the trigger, and they will respond to violations accordingly,” Qassem said in a statement read out on TV.

“There is no ceasefire from the side of the resistance only, it must be from both sides.”

He also offered his first reaction since the ceasefire went into force at midnight on Thursday (2100 GMT), with the terms shared by the US State Department.

Qassem called it “an insult to our country and our homeland, Lebanon, that America dictates its text and speaks on behalf of the Lebanese government”.

The truce came days after Lebanon and Israel’s ambassadors to the US met in Washington ahead of planned direct negotiations between the two countries, the first in decades.

“Enough of subjecting Lebanon to these humiliations by negotiating directly with the Israeli enemy and listening to its dictates, and by the shameful spectacle in Washington,” Qassem said.

Tehran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict on March 2 by attacking Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, prompting waves of Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion in the south.

Qassem expressed “gratitude” to Iran “for their support and assistance”, saying the country kept the Strait of Hormuz closed until a truce was reached in Lebanon.

Iran’s military declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday, after a brief reopening, in response to a US blockade of its ports.

The Lebanese government has taken several unprecedented steps against Hezbollah over the past year, including vowing to disarm it and outlawing its military activities.

Hezbollah has rejected these moves, but Qassem maintained his group was “open to the fullest cooperation with the Lebanese authorities, embarking on a new chapter… and utilising our strengths within a national security strategy”.