A Hezbollah representative in the Lebanese parliament has stressed "there is no real ceasefire" between Lebanon and Israel and urged the Lebanese government to take more clear action over what he said are clear violations of the truce.
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight on April 17, following weeks of intensified cross-border fighting linked to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump later announced on April 23 that the original ten-day truce was being extended by three weeks. Despite this, deadly violence has continued in Lebanon, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claiming on Friday it had struck and destroyed more than 40 Hezbollah infrastructure sites across southern Lebanon over the past day.
Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health said at least five people were killed and 13 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on multiple areas across southern Lebanon between Thursday night and Friday morning.
Controversy has also arisen over the Israeli military's efforts to extend the territories it occupies in southern Lebanon as part of what it terms as a "security buffer zone" along the border.
Lebanese residents have been warned against returning to their homes within this area, with Israel announcing that anyone who approaches this so-called "Yellow Line" will be considered a threat.
In an exclusive interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Hezbollah Member of Parliament Hussein Hajj Hassan said all the facts indicate that Israel is the one violating the ceasefire with its frequent attacks.
"Are we the ones destroying entire villages? Are we the ones bringing D9 bulldozers and Israeli bulldozers to destroy entire villages? Are we the ones bombing the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Bekaa, and South Lebanon? Civil Defense members that have been killed, State Security members who have been targeted -- who killed all of them? Is the killer unknown? The killer is known. The Israeli aircraft and Israeli airstrikes are known. The number of martyrs is also known. The side violating the ceasefire is the Israeli enemy. We have announced that we are committed to the ceasefire if the Israeli enemy commits to it. But if the Israeli enemy does not commit to the ceasefire, then we have the right to defend ourselves," he said.
The Hezbollah lawmaker said the messages coming from senior U.S. and Israeli officials shows that the ceasefire is not being adhered to.
Reports in U.S. media outlet Axios said that President Trump had allegedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to limit Israeli military actions to "surgical" strikes.
While Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday that the ceasefire must be fully implemented before full negotiations with Israel begin, Hajj Hassan stressed that the Lebanese government must take a stronger position over the continued Israeli attacks which violate the agreement.
"There is no ceasefire. In reality, there is no ceasefire -- and this is clear from Trump's statement, it is clear from [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio's statement, from the statement of the American ambassador, from Netanyahu's words, and from the document published by the U.S. State Department. Unfortunately, even from the words of Joseph Aoun, the president of the Lebanese Republic, it appeared that the Lebanese government, in one way or another, needs to clarify its position. It is as if they have adopted the American document, and remained silent about Netanyahu's statement. The enemy is telling you that there is no real ceasefire, so the enemy's violations of the ceasefire appear to be the result of American-Israeli understandings," he said.
"Until now, the Lebanese state has not stated its position on these 'understandings.' Is it approving them? Is it unable to act? Is it silent? The Lebanese state has not made a clear statement in this direction. Thus, till now, there is no real ceasefire," said the MP.
Hezbollah MP stresses 'no real ceasefire' between Lebanon, Israel
