Hezbollah says it will only accept a ‘fair’ deal as Israel proposes Baalbek | Israel attacks Lebanon News

The new leader of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, says that the group will continue to fight in its war with Israel until it is given the conditions to end the war that it considers acceptable, as the Israeli army attacked the ancient city in the east of Lebanon, Baalbek and its surroundings following orders to evacuate by force.

“If the Israelis decide to stop this violence, we say we welcome it, but on the terms we see fit,” said Qassem in a televised speech broadcast on Wednesday, his first speech since being elected as leader.

“We will not ask for a ceasefire,” he said, noting that political efforts to reach an agreement have not yielded results.

The speech was broadcast as international mediators pursued a new proposal to end the fighting in Lebanon and the besieged Gaza Strip.

Qassem, a Muslim leader and founding member of Hezbollah, was appointed on Tuesday to replace longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Beirut suburbs in late September. Qassem has served as Nasrallah’s deputy for more than three decades.

Several other high-ranking officials in the group, including Nasrallah’s successor, Hashem Safieddine, have also been killed in recent weeks, as Israel’s war with Hezbollah has intensified in Lebanon.

Qassem said a series of blows to the group in recent weeks – including pager and walkie-talkie blasts targeting Hezbollah members in mid-September and Nasrallah’s assassination – had “damaged” the group, but said it was able to reorganize its ranks within eight days of the death. of Nasrallah.

“Hezbollah’s capabilities are still available and compatible with a long war,” he said. He pointed to the number of Israeli soldiers wounded and killed in southern Lebanon since the Israeli army invaded the country on October 1, as well as the drone launched by Hezbollah that struck the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month. Netanyahu was not injured.

He said that Hezbollah was cooperating with the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, Lebanon’s main spokesman for the United States, who put forward a series of proposals for an end to the fighting.

“Until now, no plan has been put forward that Israel agrees on and is acceptable for us to discuss,” said Kassem.

Qassem said that Hezbollah is carrying out plans set by its former chief who was killed in the ongoing war.

People are ‘perfect for each other’

While his speech was being broadcast, a series of Israeli airstrikes hit the eastern town of Baalbek, hours after Israel issued a call for forced evictions from the area, including an ancient Roman temple complex designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The order included the surrounding areas and important routes in the Bekaa Valley.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said the area of ​​al-Asira, along with the town of Iaat and its surroundings, were targeted.

It was reported that Israeli warplanes were flying over the area just before the strike.

“The whole city of Baalbek was shaking as a loud noise was heard throughout the city,” a resident told dpa.

Tens of thousands of Shia Muslim Lebanese, including many who sought refuge in the city after being forced to flee elsewhere, fled after the Israeli decree was issued.

Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from Beirut, said people were still trying to get out of “those densely populated areas”.

“The governor of Baalbek has also been urging residents to leave,” Khan said.

“Israel is responsible, under international humanitarian law, for any civilians left there. It has to protect them.”

Bilal Raad, Lebanon’s regional head of security, said most of the army was calling for civilians to leave with megaphones after receiving calls from someone claiming to be the Israeli army.

“People are packed, the whole city is panicking trying to find where to go, there is a lot of traffic,” he said before the incident.

Some of the places they fled to are already full of homeless people.

Antoine Habchi, a lawyer representing the Christian-majority Deir al-Ahmar in northwest Baalbek, said more than 10,000 people have taken shelter in homes, schools and churches.

“We welcome everyone, but we need the government’s help immediately so that these people are not left out in the cold,” he told Reuters.

Meanwhile, for the third day in a row, Hezbollah reported heavy fighting with Israeli forces in or near the southern town of Khiam – the deepest Israeli forces have reportedly entered Lebanon since the fighting began.

More than 2,790 people have been killed and 12,700 injured in Lebanon since October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began exchanging arms with Israel to support Palestinians in Gaza, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.

The conflict escalated last month and Israeli underground forces launched an offensive in southern Lebanon in early October. About 1.2 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Lebanon according to government figures.