BEIRUT: Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Qassem on Wednesday said the group would agree to a ceasefire with Israel under acceptable terms, but added that a viable deal has yet to be presented.
Qassem, who was named Hezbollah secretary-general on Tuesday, did not explicitly link a Lebanon ceasefire to an end to fighting in Gaza, a position previously held by the Iran-backed group.
“If the Israelis decide that they want to stop the aggression, we say we accept, but under the conditions that we see as appropriate and suitable,” Qassem said in a pre-recorded speech, his first since he was named the group’s new leader.
But Hezbollah “will not beg for a ceasefire”, he added, noting that political efforts to secure a deal have yet to yield results.
“No project has been proposed that Israel agrees to and that we can discuss,” he said.
Qassem replaces Hassan Nasrallah who was assassinated by Israel on September 27 after more than 30 years at the helm.
He takes over as Hezbollah is locked in all-out war with Israel, which ramped up strikes against its strongholds and sent ground forces across the border last month.
“Get out of our land to reduce your losses. If you stay, you will pay more than you have ever paid in your life,” Qassem said, adding that Hezbollah could sustain fighting “for days, weeks and months”.
He acknowledged that Israel’s killing of Nasrallah and other senior Hezbollah figures dealt the group a “painful” blow.
Qassem also pledged to uphold the war strategy laid down by his predecessor.
“My work programme is a continuation of the work programme of our leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” he said, pledging to press ahead with “the war plan that he developed”.
Qassem’s remarks came after Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Israel’s security cabinet is discussing the terms of a truce with Hezbollah in south Lebanon.
“There are discussions, I think it will still take time,” Cohen told Israeli public radio.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 television, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with ministers on Tuesday evening on Israel’s demands in return for a 60-day truce.
These include a Hezbollah pullback to north of the Litani river, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli frontier, the Lebanese army’s deployment along the border, an international intervention mechanism to enforce the truce and a guarantee that Israel will maintain freedom of action in case of threats.
According to Israeli media, US President Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser Brett McGurk and special envoy Amos Hochstein will head to the region Wednesday to meet Netanyahu and other Israeli officials to discuss conditions for a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
