Hezbollah Rejects US-Brokered Truce, Stalling Regional Peace Talks
The Guardian reported Thursday that Hezbollah’s ceasefire rejection has thrown Lebanon peace negotiations into serious doubt. The Iran-backed militia dismissed a US-brokered truce agreed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments just days earlier. The development also clouds ongoing diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran.
Hezbollah Calls the Deal a “Farce”
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem publicly condemned the ceasefire plan on Thursday. He described it as a roadmap designed to eliminate part of the Lebanese population. Qassem demanded a full Israeli military withdrawal from Lebanese territory before any halt in hostilities. He also called on Lebanese officials to end what he termed humiliating direct negotiations with Israel. Hezbollah vowed that resistance would continue as long as Israeli forces remained on Lebanese soil.
The ceasefire arrangement, announced Monday, required Hezbollah fighters to withdraw south of the Litani River. It also called for a complete halt to militant fire toward northern Israel. Fighting continued on both sides Thursday despite the announced deal. Israel launched several airstrikes in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh area and the Bekaa valley, killing four people. Hezbollah simultaneously claimed it struck Israeli forces in the village of Qantara.
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The Lebanon ceasefire emerged from a broader US-led regional diplomatic push. A prior arrangement from April had constrained Israeli strikes on Beirut in exchange for reduced Hezbollah fire into northern Israel. That framework now appears under strain. Tehran had signaled hours after Monday’s announcement that Israel must first return to prewar positions. Iran’s foreign ministry reaffirmed Thursday that Lebanon remains an inseparable element of any wider ceasefire or final regional agreement.
The head of Iran’s Quds Force, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, echoed Hezbollah’s position publicly. He stated that supporting Lebanese resistance was an obligation and that expelling Israel from the region remained an achievable goal.
Lebanese Government Caught Between Two Fires
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam defended his government’s approach despite Hezbollah’s public rebuke. He argued that negotiation remained the fastest and least costly path for the country and its southern communities. Salam warned that those blocking or rejecting a truce would bear direct responsibility for the fallout. The Lebanese government has been negotiating with Israel without Hezbollah at the table. Its broader aim is to reassert state authority and push toward disarming the group. How that goal survives Hezbollah’s outright rejection of the deal remains deeply unclear.
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