Hezbollah chief again rejects Lebanon-Israel deal, refuses ‘surrender’

Beirut - Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has once more rejected a recent agreement between Israel and Lebanon and firmly stated that his Iran-supported group will not surrender. Qassem made these remarks in a televised address on Friday, broadcast on the group's Al-Manar television channel. Israel and Lebanon initiated direct talks with US mediation after Hezbollah's involvement in the Middle East war on March 2.

Israel retaliated with extensive strikes and a ground invasion, resulting in over 4,300 casualties according to Lebanese authorities.

During talks in late June, both Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement which outlines the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, beginning in pilot zones. Qassem vehemently opposed the framework agreement, deeming it illegitimate, unlawful, humiliating and detrimental to Lebanese sovereignty. He also rejected the concept of pilot zones as well as any proposed verification system.

In a recent development, a Lebanese source mentioned that during talks in Rome earlier this month, an agreement was reached about a shortlist of countries potentially overseeing the pilot zone process, namely the dismantlement of Hezbollah's infrastructure in those areas. However, no date has been set for a new round of talks yet.

Despite a decline in violence since a US-Iran memorandum of understanding on the broader conflict in June and the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement later that month, the country continues to experience regular Israeli strikes and artillery shelling, leading to the destruction of civilian buildings in southern villages and towns.

Recently, Hezbollah has also vowed that they will keep their heads high and not surrender.