Hezbollah says truce in Gaza will be met with truce in southern Lebanon

The deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah affirmed yesterday that if a truce is agreed in Gaza, then there will be a truce with the occupation state of Israel in southern Lebanon. “Afterwards,” said Naim Qassem, “all discussions related to the south will be completed in the right way.”

Qassem made his comment after US envoy to Lebanon Amos Hochstein said during his visit to Beirut, “Any ceasefire in Gaza will not necessarily automatically extend to Lebanon… Escalation will neither assist the Lebanese nor the Israelis in returning to their homes; there is no such thing as a limited war.” The Hezbollah official regarded this as a “threatening” message.

“They threaten us with aggression, and we threaten them with steadfastness, resistance and confrontation… a confrontation with the brave heroes that they experienced before. We say to them if you any acts of foolishness… I imagine that it will be an improved version of July 2006, another resounding defeat for Israel, and an additional resounding victory for Hezbollah, Lebanon and the entire axis of resistance,” said Qassem.

“When the envoys come to Lebanon, they discuss with us by intimidating us with the Israeli aggression. No one discussed with us how the aggression can stop, but rather they tell us that the aggression against Gaza will continue, and we advise that you do not continue in Lebanon, because Israel may expand its aggression… Who are you threatening? Who are you scaring?”

On Sunday night, the southern Lebanon front saw two Israeli military groups attempting to infiltrate at two close locations. This was interpreted as an attempt to test Hezbollah’s defences. The movement announced that it thwarted the infiltrations with a continuous exchange of fire.

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