Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, promised on Friday to work closely with the Lebanese military to enforce a ceasefire agreement with Israel, which he stated his organization had accepted “with heads held high”.
This was his initial speech after a ceasefire was implemented on Wednesday following over a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which devastated parts of Lebanon and resulted in the death of 4,000 individuals, including many women and children.
Qassem stated that Hezbollah had given its approval to the deal, emphasizing the strength of the resistance on the battlefield and asserting their right to defend themselves with pride.
The agreement requires Hezbollah to pull out from the regions south of the Litani river, located about 30 km (20 miles) north of the Israeli border, while the Lebanese army will move in as Israeli troops leave.
Lebanon’s military has already dispatched extra soldiers to the southern region and is working on a comprehensive deployment strategy to present to the country’s government, according to security sources and officials.
The ongoing presence of Israeli soldiers in Lebanese territory has made the effort more difficult. The agreement allows them a total of 60 days to finish their retreat.
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The Israeli army has imposed limitations on individuals going back to towns near Lebanon’s border with Israel and has shot at residents in those towns in the past few days, deeming those actions a breach of the ceasefire.
Both the Lebanese army and Hezbollah have both blamed Israel for violating the ceasefire in those cases, as well as for carrying out an airstrike over the Litani River on Thursday.
Qassem declared that the group achieved a “divine victory” against Israel and even more significant than their previous conflict in 2006.
