Hezbollah chief says group remains ready to respond to Israeli ceasefire violations

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Saturday said that the group’s fighters will remain deployed and ready to respond to any Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.

In a statement, Qassem said: “Resistance fighters will remain in the field, with their fingers on the trigger, and will respond to violations of the aggression accordingly.”

He stressed that the ceasefire “means a complete halt to all hostile acts,” adding that Hezbollah does not trust Israel and will maintain readiness on the ground.

“There is no ceasefire from one side only. It must be from both sides,” he said.

Qassem also thanked Iran, which “supported and assisted, and explicitly linked” the ceasefire reached with the US in Pakistan talks with a ceasefire in Lebanon.

He claimed that Washington had “dictated” the text of the ceasefire agreement to the Lebanese government, referring to a US statement issued after the truce took effect.

“This statement does not mean anything in practice, but it is an insult to our country,” he said, arguing that Lebanon’s government had not formally approved the text.

On the next steps, Qassem outlined five demands, including “a permanent cessation of aggression across all of Lebanon by air, land and sea,” and a full Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas up to the border.

He added that the demands also include the release of detainees, the return of displaced residents to their towns and villages, and reconstruction supported by Arab and international efforts.

Politically, Qassem said Hezbollah is open to “maximum cooperation” with Lebanese authorities within a framework of national unity and sovereignty.

US President Donald Trump also said on Friday that Washington is actively prohibiting Israel from carrying out additional attacks on Lebanon as a nascent ceasefire takes hold.

Trump announced Thursday a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon starting at midnight local time in Tel Aviv and Beirut.

The death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 has reached 2,294, with 7,544 people injured, Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said Friday.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul