Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has rejected the latest framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon, declaring that the Iran-backed group will not surrender despite nearly six months of renewed conflict with Israel.
In a televised address broadcast by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television channel on Friday, Qassem called for the agreement to be scrapped, describing it as an unacceptable threat to Lebanon’s sovereignty.
“We are against the framework agreement and call for its downfall,” he said.
The framework was reached during US-backed direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in late June. Among its key provisions are the disarmament of Hezbollah, a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the area, initially through designated “pilot zones”.
Qassem rejected the arrangement, calling it “illegitimate, unlawful, humiliating” and damaging to Lebanese sovereignty. He also opposed the proposed pilot zones and any mechanism intended to monitor or verify implementation.
The negotiations followed Hezbollah’s involvement in the wider Middle East conflict on March 2, when the group attacked Israel and triggered a major Israeli military response, including extensive airstrikes and a ground offensive.
Lebanese authorities say more than 4,300 people have been killed in the fighting.
A Lebanese source previously told AFP that discussions held in Rome earlier this month had produced a shortlist of countries that could potentially supervise the pilot-zone process. The mechanism would include the Lebanese army dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure in the designated areas.
Another round of negotiations was expected in early September, although no specific date has been confirmed.
Despite a reduction in the overall intensity of fighting following a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June and the subsequent Israel-Lebanon framework agreement, tensions remain high in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities continue to report Israeli airstrikes, artillery fire and widespread demolition of civilian structures in towns and villages near the border.
Israeli troops are also maintaining positions within a self-declared security zone extending about 10 kilometres into Lebanese territory.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported several Israeli airstrikes in southern areas on Friday, including around Nabatieh, where Israeli military activity has increased in recent days.
Qassem said Hezbollah had previously supported the implementation of a November 2024 ceasefire aimed at ending an earlier conflict with Israel.
However, he insisted the group would continue to resist what it views as attempts to weaken or dismantle it.
“We will keep our heads high and we will not surrender,” Qassem said.
