Hezbollah rejects ceasefire as Israel continues Lebanon strikes

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah rejected the terms of a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon as Israel’s deadly strikes continue across Lebanon despite the ceasefire announcement. 

The group’s leader Naim Qassem in a statement rejected it.

It comes after Israel and Lebanon announced a renewal of their fragile ceasefire with the creation of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon in which Hezbollah operatives would be banned. It also required Hezbollah to stop attacking Israel.

Donald Trump later said he had spoken to Hezbollah and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and progress was being made.
Trump added “I think you’re going to see things happen over there”.
“It would be really nice if Lebanon could have some peace. Lebanon’s been under attack for so many years and always like an underdog, and it would be really nice if it could end,” he said.

Before Trump’s comments, the leader of Hezbollah, which was not part of the talks, said the “supposed ceasefire”, interpreted as Hezbollah halting fire and withdrawing fighters from the southern front with Israel, amounted to surrender and would fulfil Israel’s objectives.

At least 3,526 people have been killed and 10,733 injured in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to the country’s health ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The UN says more than one million people have also registered themselves as displaced in Lebanon, where Israeli evacuation orders cover more than an eighth of the country.
Israel says 26 of its soldiers and four Israeli civilians have been killed on both sides of the border during the war.