Hezbollah claims it will not accept Israeli presence in Lebanon beyond the ceasefire

Hezbollah's Political Council Deputy Chief Mahmoud Komati stated in an interview on Monday that the terror group is committed to upholding the current 60-day ceasefire with the State of Israel, which took effect on Nov. 27.

However, Komati told the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese Al Manar TV that “day 61 will be different” and claimed that Hezbollah would not accept an Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon beyond the stipulated length of the ceasefire.

The senior Hezbollah official threatened that it would resume its attacks against the Jewish state if the Israeli military did not withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and boasted that Hezbollah still has a significant arsenal of rockets, missiles and drones.

The ceasefire stipulates that Israeli forces should withdraw and be replaced by the official Lebanese military and UNIFIL peacekeeping forces. At the same time, the ceasefire demands that Hezbollah pull its forces out of southern Lebanon and retreat north of the Litani River, approximately 18 miles from the border between Lebanon and Israel.

Israel has stressed that it does not have any territorial claims in Lebanon and wants the Lebanese government to assume responsibility for the entire country, including the southern part of Lebanon that used to be under Hezbollah domination.

However, Israeli officials recently indicated that Israeli forces could potentially remain in Lebanon for a longer period due to the slow deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon. A significant challenge lies in the fact that, even in a weakened state, Hezbollah is regarded as more formidable than Lebanon's relatively weak conventional military.

In recent months, Israel has delivered severe blows to Hezbollah forces. At least 4,000 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed and additional thousands seriously injured in the fighting. Furthermore, Israel succeeded in wiping out most of Hezbollah’s top leadership including its Sec.-Gen. Hassan Nasrallah.

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant estimated in late October that Israel had eliminated some 80% of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile arsenal.

“The achievements of the IDF in Lebanon are extremely impressive. We have eliminated the chain of command and control of Hezbollah, and I estimate the missile and rocket capability they have left is at 20%,” Gallant stated at the time.

Hezbollah pledged to continue its attacks on Israel as long as the war in Gaza persisted. However, the group, significantly weakened, eventually signaled its willingness to agree to a separate ceasefire with Israel, despite the ongoing conflict against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Many Lebanese citizens blame Hezbollah for launching a war against Israel that caused widespread destruction in Lebanon. Many Lebanese argue that Hezbollah prioritizes the interests of the Iranian regime over national interests.

Komati addressed this issue by saying it needed to rebuild the war-torn country.

"Hezbollah welcomes any initiative from any country that intends to help Lebanon implement the reconstruction program without political preconditions," Komati said.

He also warned other parties in Lebanon’s government to refrain from cooperating with Israel.

“Some of them provided the enemy with data about certain institutions, like Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association," Komati said. "Is this the proper way to build the nation?”