Hezbollah Backs Ceasefire: Is Peace Possible in the Lebanon-Israel Conflict?

Lebanon-Israel Conflict

Israel announces ground military action in southwestern Lebanon; Hezbollah’s No. 2 says willing to negotiate ceasefire

On October 8, 2024, the Israeli military launched a ground offensive in southwestern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, following an earlier incursion that began on September 30. This operation, characterized as “limited, localized, and targeted,” is accompanied by intensified air strikes, particularly in southern Beirut, resulting in the death of senior Hezbollah commander Suhail Husseini.

Hezbollah’s Deputy Leader, Naim Qassem, acknowledged setbacks but expressed support for a ceasefire with Israel, independent of the situation in Gaza. Amid escalating hostilities, various governments, including Turkey, initiated evacuation plans for their citizens in Lebanon, while the U.S. State Department evacuated 180 individuals from Beirut. Iran warned against retaliatory strikes on its infrastructure following Israeli missile attacks, with Iranian officials emphasizing the potential for severe consequences. The situation remains tense, with concerns about broader regional conflict escalating.

Key Concepts

• The Israeli military launched a ground offensive in southwestern Lebanon to push Hezbollah away from the Israel-Lebanon border.
• Israeli air strikes intensified in Lebanon, particularly targeting Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut.
• Senior Hezbollah commander Suhail Husseini was killed in Israeli air strikes, following the death of top leader Hassan Nasrullah.
• Hezbollah’s Deputy Leader Naim Qassem claimed the organization remains organized despite setbacks from the Israeli offensive.
• Qassem expressed support for a ceasefire with Israel, independent of the situation in Gaza.
• Hezbollah reported launching rockets at Haifa, with Israel confirming the detection of the projectiles.
• Several governments, including Turkey, are evacuating their citizens from Lebanon amid escalating hostilities.
• The U.S. State Department evacuated 180 individuals from Beirut to Istanbul in response to the conflict.
• Iran warned against retaliatory strikes on its infrastructure following an Israeli missile attack, emphasizing potential consequences.
• Israel pledged to retaliate against Iranian military bases in response to threats, avoiding attacks on nuclear facilities.
• President Biden and U.S. officials cautioned that an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites could escalate regional tensions.

The Israeli military announced on Tuesday (October 8) that it had launched a ground offensive in southwestern Lebanon. The purpose of this expanded invasion of Lebanon, according to Israeli officials, is to drive Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets at Israel, away from the Israel-Lebanon border area.

Just like when the Israeli army first crossed the border to launch a ground military operation in southern Lebanon on September 30, the Israeli military emphasized that this was a “limited, localized and targeted operation.”

While expanding its ground offensive in Lebanon on Tuesday, the Israeli army continued to carry out fierce air strikes on Lebanon, including the Dahieh area in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah’s headquarters is located.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that the Israeli air strike killed Suhail Husseini, a senior commander of Hezbollah who was responsible for transporting weapons from Iran to Lebanon. About ten days ago, the Israeli army suddenly expanded its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon and killed Hassan Nasrullah, the top leader of Hezbollah, and several other senior Hezbollah officials in a fierce air strike.

Hezbollah’s No. 2 leader, Naim Qassem, said Tuesday that Hezbollah remained well organized and had overcome “painful blows” after the Israeli army launched a ground offensive in southwestern Lebanon.

But he also said in televised remarks that Hezbollah supported a ceasefire negotiated with Israel. Significantly, he did not make a ceasefire in Gaza a precondition for Hezbollah to stop attacking Israel, as he has done in the past.

Qassem claimed that Hezbollah would not be the first to retreat from the war because its strength remained intact. He said that the Israeli army had not made much progress since launching its ground offensive in Lebanon a week ago.

“In any case, once the ceasefire is in sight and diplomacy can make it happen, all other details can be discussed and all decisions can be made,” Reuters quoted Qassem as saying.

“If the enemy continues the war, then let the battlefield decide,” Qassem said.

Hezbollah claimed to have fired rockets at the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Tuesday. At the same time, Israel said it had detected more than two dozen projectiles fired from Lebanon toward Israel.

The expansion and intensification of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict have forced many governments to take measures to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon. Turkey said that the Turkish Navy will send two naval ships to evacuate 2,000 Turkish citizens from Lebanon starting Wednesday.

The United States said on Tuesday that two flights operated by the U.S. State Department have evacuated 180 people from Beirut to Istanbul.

The Israeli military issued a warning to fishermen and residents in the Al-Awali River area of ​​Lebanon on Monday night, prohibiting them from going to the beach, going out to sea, or staying in the area on the south bank of the river “until further notice.”

Iran warned Israel on Tuesday not to launch a retaliatory attack against Iran a week after launching a large-scale ballistic missile attack on Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that any attack on Iranian infrastructure will be retaliated.

Araqchi began a visit to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East on Tuesday to discuss regional conflicts and how to get Israel to stop attacking Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel has vowed to retaliate against Iran’s ballistic missile attack with “grave and significant” consequences and the New York Times reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources, that the target of the Israeli military’s retaliatory strike on Iran will not be Iran’s nuclear facilities but will most likely be the military bases and intelligence centers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran.

President Joe Biden and other senior US government officials have said that Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities will not only be ineffective but may also “drag the entire region into a full-scale war.”