Deputy Secretary-General Naeem Kassem, the second-in-command of Lebanon’s pro-Iran armed group Hezbollah, said on the 8th (local time), “We support the political activities led by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in the name of a ‘ceasefire’.” This is the first time Hezbollah, which has insisted on ‘ceasering the war with Hamas’ as a condition for cessation of engagement with Israel since the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas broke out in October last year, has not mentioned this for the first time.
There is an assessment that Hezbollah, which has been cornered by Israel’s large-scale attacks over the past three weeks, including simultaneous pager explosions, airstrikes across Lebanon, and the deployment of ground troops, has virtually surrendered to Israel. Already, most of Hezbollah’s key commanders, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah and next leader Hashem Safied-Din, have been killed due to Israeli attacks. Additionally, military facilities such as missile and rocket launchers, infiltration tunnels, and weapons depots were reportedly destroyed on a large scale.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who emphasizes ‘neutralizing Hamas and Hezbollah’, has made it clear that he will stick to a hard-line policy. Axios, a U.S. political media outlet, reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu had a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden on the 9th and decided to discuss the level of retaliation against Iran, which struck mainland Israel with a missile on the 1st. If Israel retaliates against Iran, the situation in the Middle East is likely to become even more turbulent.
● “Hezbollah surrenders to Israeli ‘power’”
According to CNN on the 8th, Deputy Secretary-General Kassem said in a video speech recorded at an undisclosed location, “Once the ceasefire (with Israel) is reached and the diplomatic arena is opened, other details will be able to be discussed.” Reuters commented on this statement by saying that Deputy Secretary-General Kassem said he would “stand on the side of Hamas and Palestine” after the outbreak of war in October last year, but that he has now broken that link. This means that Israel, which carried out pager attacks and assassinated high-ranking Hezbollah officials, has a clear advantage.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller also commented, “Hezbollah, which had not agreed to the ceasefire demanded by the entire world for the past year, has suddenly changed its stance and wants a ceasefire,” adding, “It shows that Hezbollah’s position has become disadvantageous.”
Israel’s Channel 12 broadcast reported that the United States and major Arab countries have begun secret talks with Iran, which supports Hezbollah and Hamas, for a ceasefire in the Middle East. Israel claims that as a condition of the ceasefire with Iran, “Hezbollah, which is based in southern Lebanon, close to the Israeli border, must be moved north of the Litani River in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s major military bases in the border area must be dismantled.” Analysis suggests that this is a measure that virtually eliminates Hezbollah’s ability to attack Israel, and that this is a condition that Iran and Hezbollah will find difficult to accept.
● Netanyahu sticks to a hard line
Israel is adhering to a hard-line policy. The Times of Israel reported that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s visit to the US, originally scheduled to meet with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington, D.C. on the 9th, was canceled on the 8th due to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s opposition. Minister Gallant, who is classified as a ‘moderate’, has always been at odds with Prime Minister Netanyahu, emphasizing a speedy ceasefire for the return of hostages captured by Hamas. There is an interpretation that Prime Minister Netanyahu was concerned that Secretary Gallant would visit the United States and raise a different voice before reaching an agreement with the United States on retaliation against Iran.
According to the British Financial Times (FT), the Israeli military is increasing the intensity of ground warfare by deploying additional ground troops one after another in southern Lebanon. Accordingly, the number of Israeli troops currently deployed in Lebanon is estimated to be at least 20,000. Also, in a speech on the 8th, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Hezbollah’s new leader, Hashem Safied-Din, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the 3rd.”
Suspicions have also been raised that the Israeli military is using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and snipers to indiscriminately attack Palestinian civilians who have fled. The Israeli army, which has been encircling Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestine, since the 6th to attack Hamas, opened fire on refugees who were on their way to the humanitarian zone following their evacuation orders. Itaf Hamad, a resident of Jabaliya, told CNN, “Israeli soldiers shoot everything that moves,” and “I want to collect the body of my nephew who died on the 6th, but I can’t go near the window, let alone go out.”
Reporter Lee Ki-wook [email protected]
Paris = Correspondent Jo Eun-ah [email protected]
Reporter Lee Ji-yoon [email protected]
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