Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem declared on Saturday that ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon are “unacceptable” and “cannot continue,” following an Israeli bombardment that killed three people in the country’s south.
Despite a ceasefire in effect since November, Israel has consistently launched deadly strikes in Lebanon, particularly in the south. Israel has repeatedly stated it will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its capabilities after the group suffered significant losses to its military and leadership structure during the war.
In a speech broadcast by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, Qassem said, “We abided by the agreement, but the Israelis did not.” He placed responsibility on the Lebanese government, stating, “The aggression… against any citizen in the south, is completely unacceptable… The state must exert pressure; it must fulfill all its duties.”
He issued a direct warning: “You must know that this is something that cannot continue… Do you imagine we will remain silent forever? No, all of this has its limits.”
The US-mediated ceasefire stipulated Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the area south of the Litani River (about 30 kilometers from the border) and the dismantling of its military structures there, in exchange for an increased deployment of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL forces.
It also called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas they had advanced into, though Israel has maintained a presence on five strategic hills, which Lebanon demands they vacate.
Israel has reiterated it will continue to act to “remove any threat” and will not permit Hezbollah to restore its military infrastructure. It vowed this month to continue its strikes unless Lebanese authorities disarm the group.
Three Killed in Strikes
Three people were killed in two separate Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, according to the health ministry.
The Lebanese Health Ministry stated that an “enemy Israeli drone strike on a car in the town of Kunin… led to one martyr” and wounded another person.
The Israeli military announced it had “attacked… in the Kunin area… and eliminated the terrorist Hassan Mohammed Hamoudi, responsible for anti-tank missiles in the Bint Jbeil region of Hezbollah.” It claimed Hamoudi had been involved in plots to launch anti-tank missiles into Israeli territory during the recent war.
Later, the health ministry reported that a second Israeli “drone strike on a motorcycle in the town of Mahruneh” in the Tyre district killed two people, one of whom was a woman, and injured another.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it had “killed the terrorist Abbas al-Hassan Wahbi in the Mahruneh area,” identifying him as “responsible for intelligence in the Radwan unit.” The statement added, “The terrorist was involved in Hezbollah’s reconstruction efforts and weapons transfers. These activities constitute a flagrant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
The strikes came a day after a woman was killed and 25 others were wounded, according to the health ministry, in Israeli raids condemned by Lebanese officials, including President Joseph Aoun, who called for “effective action from the international community to put an end to these attacks.”
The ministry said the woman was killed and 14 others were injured in a strike on a residential building in the city of Nabatieh. The Israeli military denied targeting the building, stating it was hit by “a rocket that was inside the site and was launched and exploded as a result of the raid.”
Seven others were wounded in heavy strikes in the Nabatieh area, while four more were injured in another raid on the town of Shaqra, the ministry said.
The Israeli military stated its aircraft had bombed a site in the Shaqif area near Nabatieh that was “used to manage Hezbollah’s fire and protection systems,” and was part of an “underground project that had been put out of service” by previous strikes. It noted “attempts to rebuild it, which is why the terrorist infrastructure in the area was attacked.”
Agence France-Presse
