Hezbollah said on Tuesday it was ready to negotiate a ceasefire with Israel after suffering severe blows to its leadership and executives in recent months.
The Lebanese terrorist group made the announcement hours earlier after firing more than 100 rockets into the Jewish state.
Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem has publicly supported a ceasefire with Israel, but this is the first time the terrorist organization has proposed a ceasefire that does not make the Gaza war a condition.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said that Hezbollah is now open to negotiating a ceasefire with Israel. From Reuters The Israeli military has eliminated dozens of Hezbollah leaders, including most of the top officials. israel defense forces
“I support the political efforts led by (Lebanese parliament speaker Nabi) Berri under the banner of achieving a ceasefire,” Qasem said, according to a CNN translation.
“Once a ceasefire is firmly established and diplomacy is achieved, all other details will be discussed and a decision taken collaboratively,” he added.
Qassem’s announcement came within hours of a massive barrage of more than 100 missiles from Lebanon on the northern Israeli city of Haifa, the Jewish state’s third-largest city.
Officials said a woman in her 70s was injured by shrapnel in the attack. The attack came just a day after another missile barrage into the city injured two people.
Hezbollah has previously vowed not to stop attacking Israel until it agrees to end the war in Gaza, and the Iranian-backed terror group has fired missiles across the border almost daily since October 8.
More than 100 rockets were fired at the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Tuesday. @YakiLopez/X
Qassem's willingness to agree to a ceasefire comes as he is now the most senior member of the terrorist group after Israel has reduced its strength in recent months.
Hezbollah’s top commander, Saeed Hassan Nasrallah, was killed on September 27, and Israeli defense officials said on Tuesday that his intended successor, Hashem Saffieddin, was also killed before his successor was formally chosen. It is highly likely that he was killed in the airstrike last week.
In addition to the two ministers, Israeli Defense Force airstrikes in southern Lebanon and Beirut killed more than a dozen senior officials, including the top commander of Hezbollah’s elite forces and missile-launching units.
Israeli forces continue to bombard Beirut with the aim of destroying Hezbollah’s headquarters. Reuters
The terror group was also dealt a severe blow last month when its pagers and radio systems exploded in what appeared to be an Israeli attack, killing dozens and injuring thousands of operatives.
Israel’s ground raids on Lebanon, aimed at destroying Hezbollah’s weapons depots and infrastructure, also dealt a major blow to the terrorist group’s numbers.
The Israeli military said more than 200 Hezbollah operatives were killed in the raid last week, which destroyed multiple tunnels and rocket launch facilities along the border.
Israeli forces destroy a booby-trapped facility during a ground operation in Lebanon. IDF/GPO/SIPA/Shutterstock
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the operation in Lebanon will not end until he is satisfied that the terrorist group no longer poses an active threat to northern Israel, and whether Israel will accept a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. remains unclear.
The United States and France have repeatedly called for a truce between the two countries, saying the conflict could lead to an all-out war in the Middle East.
