Israel says cease-fire in Lebanon ‘only’ after Hezbollah relocated, disarmed

JERUSALEM

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that Tel Aviv will only accept a cease-fire in Lebanon when Hezbollah is pushed away from the border to the north of the Litani River and disarmed, according to Israeli media on Monday.

“The only acceptable way for Israel to agree to a cease-fire is to move Hezbollah north of the Litani River and disarm it,” Katz said in a message to foreign ministers from 25 nations as cited by the Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

He claimed that the full implementation of all UN Security Council resolutions regarding Lebanon “will lead to a cease-fire.”

“For as long as this does not happen, Israel will continue its actions to ensure the security of its citizens and the return of northern residents to their homes,” he added.

There was no comment from Hezbollah on Katz’s statements.

For decades, Israel has occupied the Shebaa Farms in Lebanon, the Syrian Golan Heights, and the Palestinian West Bank.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 900 people and injuring over 2,700 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Several Hezbollah commanders were killed in the assault, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in an airstrike in Beirut on Friday.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul