The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Thursday rejected the cease-fire proposal agreed upon by Israel and Lebanon after U.S.-led negotiations.
“We are concerned only with a comprehensive cessation of aggression, a cease-fire, and the withdrawal of Israel,” said Naim Qassem, leader of the Iran-backed Shi‘ite Muslim group that was not party to the talks.
The cease-fire was contingent on Hezbollah halting all fire and withdrawing its fighters from parts of southern Lebanon, but Qassem in a written statement read on TV rejected the proposed action as fulfilling “the enemy’s objectives.”
The cease-fire statement made no explicit reference to any Israeli withdrawal from the south.
Dismissing the negotiations as a “farce,” Qassem argued that “as long as the occupation exists, the resistance will continue.”
Hezbollah’s staunch rejection of the agreement comes amid reports of continued strikes being traded by the militant group and Israeli forces Thursday morning, just hours after the cease-fire was announced.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces issued a warning to residents of southern Lebanon, saying that the IDF “continue to target Hezbollah facilities and infrastructure located in your villages and nearby.” Locals were advised to refrain from heading south of the Zahrani River until further notice.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported a number of strikes in the south of the country.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that the military presence and operations in southern Lebanon will continue for the time being, despite the cease-fire announcement.
In a statement shared with TIME, Katz said the IDF would continue “its fire and activity in the area at this stage” and “remain in the security zone in Lebanon… without the return of the [Lebanese] population.”
Hezbollah targeted Israeli soldiers stationed in the Lebanese town of Qantara with two rocket attacks on Thursday, according to Al-Manar, a Lebanese television network owned by Hezbollah.
The group also said it struck “a gathering of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers” in the town of Qana in southern Lebanon.
The rejected cease-fire agreement and the continued exchanging of fire between Israel and Hezbollah casts a shadow over the progress of U.S.-Iran peace negotiations.
Tehran has maintained its position that any cease-fire with Washington must include the halt of Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Earlier this week, it was reported that peace deal talks had once again stalled over Iran’s condemnation of Israel’s planned attack on a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirutin retaliation for alleged attacks on Israel by Hezbollah.
After a tense conversation between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump, the latter announced that Israel would not carry out the attack.
Since the Israel-Hezbollah fighting reignited in March, early on in the Iran war, at least 3,516 have been killed in Lebanon, with 10,674 wounded, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
A U.S.-brokered cease-fire on April 16 failed to stop the fighting, with both sides repeatedly accusing each other of violating the fragile truce.
The ongoing conflict has added to the pre-existing strain on the country’s health sector and the population as a whole.
According to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the “escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli airstrikes, and evacuation orders” have displaced around 1.3 million across Lebanon.
TIME has been unable to independently verify these figures.
What are the specifics of the Israel-Lebanon cease-fire plan overseen by Washington?
A key condition of the cease-fire is the “complete cessation” of Hezbollah fire, and the withdrawal of the militant group’s fighters from the South Litani Sector.
This contingency has been brought into question amid the militant group’s staunch rejection of the proposal.
The parties in Washington also agreed upon the creation of “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will take “exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors.” This would be carried out with the “guidance” of the U.S.
The joint statement issued by the U.S., Israel, and Lebanon did not indicate where such zones would be situated.
The Lebanese government later proposed a zone in the area of Beaufort (Shaqif) Castle in southern Lebanon, which was seized by Israeli forces last week, to serve as a model.
But in his statement Thursday morning, Israel’s Defense Minister Katz said the IDF would at this stage be “remaining in the security zone in Lebanon up to the yellow line,” including in the Shaqif area.
Israel’s hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called the cease-fire proposal “a serious mistake,” insisting the Lebanese army was incapable of forcing Hezbollah to withdraw, should the group not comply.
The LAF and the country’s government, which are distinct from Hezbollah’s military wing, have previously been tasked with disarming Hezbollah, but the mission ultimately failed.
The statement announcing the latest cease-fire proposal stipulated that “the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments,” with a firm rejection of “any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage. ”
Representatives from Israel and Lebanon are set to meet again the week of June 22 “with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement.”
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