Lebanese Hezbollah MP: Opposes Direct Negotiations with Israel, Calls for Compliance with Ceasefire

Xinhua News Agency, Beirut, April 9 (Reporter Shen Feng, Cao Changhao) Ali Fayez, a member of the Lebanese Hezbollah, called on the Lebanese government on the 9th to make Israel's compliance with the ceasefire a prerequisite for any subsequent actions, emphasizing that the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc opposes direct negotiations with Israel.

Fayez is from the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc "Loyalty to the Resistance." In a statement, he reiterated that the bloc opposes "any direct negotiations between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy," stressing that Israel must withdraw its troops, cease hostilities, and ensure the return of displaced Lebanese citizens to their homes.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated in a video statement that evening that he had instructed the Israeli government to engage in direct negotiations with Lebanon, but that there was "no ceasefire" in Lebanon, and that operations against Hezbollah would continue.

After the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement took effect in November 2024, Israel not only refused to fully withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon but also frequently launched airstrikes, citing the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah's attempts to rebuild its military capabilities and violations of the ceasefire agreement as reasons, while pressuring the Lebanese government. After the U.S. and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran on February 28 this year, hostilities between Lebanon and Israel reignited. Two weeks after the U.S. and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire, Israel stated that Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire and conducted large-scale airstrikes in multiple locations within Lebanon on the 8th of this month, resulting in thousands of casualties.