Above photo: X.
‘The Resistance Will Not Let You Stay.’
The Israeli army continues to bombard Lebanon and attack Lebanese soldiers and civilians in the south.
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on 9 March that Israeli forces currently occupying south Lebanon will inevitably face resistance if they do not withdraw.
“I tell the Israelis, if you remain at these points, this resistance will not let you continue there,” Qassem stated on Sunday.
“If the occupation continues, it must be confronted by the army, the people, and the resistance,” despite some people wanting “liberation through diplomacy,” the resistance leader added.
“We committed to the [ceasefire] agreement while the enemy violates it … it assaults people far from the border in their cars and in their homes,” he went on to say. “The ceasefire agreement is the one announced and distributed, and there is no secret agreement or clauses under the table.”
“The resistance is fine and continuing, but it was wounded and hurt and made great sacrifices … We had a security exposure and some shortcomings, and we are conducting an investigation to learn lessons and hold people accountable,” Qassem said.
The Hezbollah chief commented on the recent entry of hundreds of settlers into south Lebanon under Israeli army protection, calling “it the greatest evidence that we are not facing aggression in a single phase, but rather [an Israeli expansionist] project from the ocean to the Gulf.”
Israeli forces continue to occupy Labbouneh, Mount Blat, Owayda Hill, Aaziyyeh, and Hammamis Hill, despite the ceasefire implementation and withdrawal deadline expiring on 18 February.
Tel Aviv has violated the ceasefire agreement over 1,300 times with non-stop attacks and infiltration of Lebanon’s airspace since the deal was signed in November last year.
Israel claims to be acting on its rights within the deal by preventing Hezbollah from rearming itself. However, the agreement signed by Beirut does not include anything about Israeli forces having the right to attack the country, instead stipulating that the resistance’s presence and military infrastructure must be dismantled by the Lebanese army south of the Litani River in south Lebanon.
Tel Aviv accuses Hezbollah of having not fully withdrawn to the north of the Litani River, as per the agreement. It also accuses the Lebanese resistance of trying to reconstitute its forces.
A Lebanese soldier was killed by Israeli forces on Sunday when they opened fire at citizens in the border town of Kfar Kila. Another Lebanese soldier was shot in the leg and kidnapped on the same day.
On Friday, Israeli warplanes launched more than 20 air raids, targeting valleys and forested areas on the outskirts of Zebqin, Beit Yahoun, Al-Aishiyeh, Al-Rayhan, Ansar, and Al-Bissariya.