Hezbollah publicly endorses Lebanon ceasefire efforts for the first time as Israel ramps up offensive

By Abbas Al Lawati, CNN

(CNN) — Hezbollah supports efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Lebanon, its top official said on Tuesday, marking the first time the group has publicly endorsed a truce and not conditioned it on stopping the war in Gaza.

“We support the political efforts led by (Parliament Speaker Nabih) Berri under the banner of achieving a ceasefire. Once the ceasefire is firmly established and diplomacy can reach it, all other details will be discussed and decisions will be made collaboratively,” Deputy Secretery General Naim Qassem said.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah began firing at Israel on October 8 last year to show solidarity with Hamas, which had launched an attack on Israel from Gaza a day earlier. Hezbollah had previously stated that it would only cease its attacks on Israel once a ceasefire was reached with Hamas in Gaza. Israel, however, insisted that Hezbollah separate its conflict with Israel from the ongoing war with Hamas.

In his speech marking the first anniversary of Hezbollah’s involvement in the war, Qassem did not mention a Gaza ceasefire as a condition for achieving one in Lebanon. It was Qassem’s second speech since Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah late last month. Israel has since been conducting limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, which has continued to fire rockets into northern Israel.

Nabih Berri, the leader of the Shiite Amal party that is allied with Hezbollah, has been a key figure in negotiations for a ceasefire mediated by Western nations.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told CNN last week that Nasrallah had agreed to a temporary ceasefire that was called for by US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and other allies during last month’s UN General Assembly. Soon after, Nasrallah was assassinated by Israel.

US officials have told CNN that the Biden administration isn’t actively trying to revive the deal and has resigned itself to trying to shape and limit Israeli operations in Lebanon and against Iran rather than halting hostilities.

Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli ambassador to the UK, said in an interview with Sky News on Sunday that Nasrallah hadn’t agreed to a ceasefire and called Bou Habib’s claim “ridiculous.”

‘Abyss of a long war’

In a video message on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has “eliminated” Hashem Safieddine, the successor to Nasrallah. However, the Israeli military said it is still checking whether a strike on Hezbollah intelligence headquarters in Beirut killed him.

Netanyahu addressed the people of Lebanon directly in the message, urging them to stand up to Hezbollah and “take back your country,” and threatening them with a Gaza style war if they do not.

“Christians, Druze, Muslims – Sunnis and Shiites alike – all of you are suffering because of Hezbollah’s futile war in Israel,” Netanyahu said. “You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will bring destruction and suffering similar to what we see in Gaza,” he continued.

Israel’s war on Hezbollah has killed more than 1,400 people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry. More than 1.2 million people have been displaced since fighting escalated last month, Lebanese authorities have said.

Despite the nod to ceasefire talks, much of Qassem’s speech on Tuesday carried a defiant tone, emphasizing Hezbollah’s readiness and capability to continue its fight against Israel.

“If the enemy continues its war, then the battlefield will be decisive, and the battlefield belongs to us” he said.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah launched a large barrage of rockets toward the Israeli cities of Haifa and Kiryat, one of the largest on the city since the start of the war. The rockets were fired from Lebanon in two separate barrages, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. While numerous rockets were intercepted or fell in open areas, according to the military, at least two buildings in Kiryat Yam and Kiryat Motzkin were directly hit, it said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israel’s military said it had expanded its “limited, localized, targeted operations” into southwestern Lebanon.

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CNN’s Eyad Kourdi, Mostafa Salem and Benjamin Brown contributed to this report.