Hezbollah leader: Only if Israel ceases its attacks are indirect truce talks feasible

Naim Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah, stated on Wednesday that conflict between the Israeli military and the Lebanese armed group will only be resolved by events on the battlefield, not by political actions.

“I will tell you very clearly, our conviction is that only one thing can stop this war of aggression, and that is the battlefield,” said Qassem, who was chosen secretary general of Hezbollah after Israeli bombings in September killed his predecessor, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

He stated that he did not think “political action” would end the fight, which has been going on for more than a year and is happening concurrently with Israel’s war in Gaza.

Qassem stated in a pre-recorded broadcast speech that only if Israel ceased its attacks on Lebanon would there be a path to indirect talks through the Lebanese state.

“When the enemy decides to stop the aggression, there is a path for negotiations that we have clearly defined – indirect negotiations through the Lebanese state and Speaker (of parliament Nabih) Berri,” Qassem added.

According to him, those negotiations could only move forward if they ensured “the protection of Lebanese sovereignty in full, without anything missing,” but he did not elaborate.

Israel claims that it wants to guarantee that Iran-backed Hezbollah will no longer be a threat to Israel’s security and to repatriate people who have been displaced from northern Israel to their homes.

A draft U.S. plan for a 60-day truce that included a “side letter” between the United States and Israel allowing Israel to take action against immediate threats to its security in Lebanon was released by Israeli public broadcaster Kan last week.