“If the enemy decides [concordar com] a ceasefire, we will say yes, but with conditions. The way forward will be to carry out indirect negotiations to this end,” said Naim Qassem.
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The new leader of Hezbollah assured this Wednesday that the Lebanese Shiite group is willing to maintain indirect negotiations with Israel to reach a ceasefire, but with conditions, to end more than a year of war.
“If the enemy decides [concordar com] a ceasefire, We will say yes, but with conditions.. The way forward will be to carry out indirect negotiations to this end,” said Naim Qassem, who in early October – when he was Hezbollah’s number two – gave his support to the truce negotiations mediated by the president of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri. .
Qassem recalled that Berri, who also leads the Shiite group Amal, an ally of Hezbollah, is “the pillar of the negotiations”, although he regretted that “there is still no clear and agreed project” to end the conflict.
Berri, who has been President of Parliament for three decades, is a Crucial figure who serves as the group’s communication channel with the rest of the Lebanese political spectrum..
“We will not beg for a ceasefire“Qassem added, however.
According to Israeli media, the US president’s Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk, and Amos Hochstein, special envoy of the US head of state, are expected to leave the United States this Wednesday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials. Israelis to discuss conditions for a possible ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen, a member of the security cabinet, said that The conditions of a truce with Hezbollah were being discussed in the cabinet. in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army has been leading a ground offensive for about a month.
Hezbollah announced Qassem’s appointment on Tuesday, following the death of former leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli attack on September 27.
How Nasrallah turned Hezbollah into one of Israel’s greatest enemies and wreaked chaos in Lebanon
After nominating Qassem, the Shura Council promised to work with Hezbollah “to achieve the goals of the movement’s path and keep the flame of resistance burning and its flag high until victory is achieved.” This decision was made after Hezbollah confirmed last week the death of Hashem Safiedine, head of the group’s executive council and considered one of the main candidates to succeed cleric Nasrallah.
Who is Naim Qassem, the new leader of Hezbollah who succeeds Hassan Nasrallah?
Israel invaded Lebanon after weeks of bombing and attacks against the country, including the coordinated explosion of thousands of communications devices, after almost a year of fighting with Hezbollah in the border area.
The Lebanese Government estimated that the Israeli attacks caused around 2,700 deaths and 12,500 injuries.
Hezbollah has begun bombing northern Israel from southern Lebanon in support of Hamas, which has faced a military offensive from Tel Aviv towards Gaza since it attacked Israeli soil on October 7.
Iran has supported Hezbollah since its founding in the 1980s, and the group is one of its main allies in the region.
Tehran leads the so-called “Axis of Resistance”, the informal anti-Israel alliance to which, in addition to Hezbollah, the Palestinian group Hamas, the Houthis from Yemen, and Islamic militias from Iraq and Syria belong.
Source: Observadora
