Hezbollah deputy chief backs Lebanon ceasefire efforts, omits mention of Gaza deal

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Hezbollah deputy chief backs Lebanon ceasefire efforts, omits mention of Gaza deal

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said in comments broadcast on Tuesday that his movement supports efforts to reach a ceasefire for Lebanon, but for the first time omitted any mention of a Gaza truce deal as a pre-condition to halting the group’s ***** on *******.

Qassem said Hezbollah supported efforts by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to secure a halt to fighting, which has escalated in recent weeks with ******** ground incursions and the ******** of some of Hezbollah’s top leaders, including secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

“We support the political activity being led by Berri under the title of a ceasefire,” Qassem said in a 30-minute televised address.

“In any case, after the issue of a ceasefire takes shape, and once diplomacy can achieve it, all of the other details can be discussed and decisions can be taken,” he said. “If the ****** (*******) continues its war, then the battlefield will decide.”

Hezbollah began launching missiles at ******* a year ago in support of its ally ******, which is at war with ******* following the ******-led ******* on southern ******* on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hezbollah’s top leaders have repeatedly stated over the last year that the group will not stop its ***** until a Gaza ceasefire was reached but Qassem’s address appeared to mark a departure from that policy.

******** strikes have hit the group’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs on a nightly basis, and ground incursions expanded on Tuesday to additional parts of Lebanon’s southern border with *******.

Qassem simultaneously struck a defiant tone, saying the group’s capabilities were intact, that it had increased its rocket ***** on ******* and that it was itching for “clashes” with ******** troops in Lebanon.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Clauda Tanios in Dubai; Editing by Alison Williams and Timothy Heritage)

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