In first, Hezbollah signals readiness for ceasefire without conditions – and no connection to Gaza

In his surprise speech on Tuesday, Hezbollah’s current figurehead Naim Qassem for the first time signaled readiness to enter a ceasefire with Israel with no preconditions, and without any connection to the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Over the past year of fighting, Hezbollah insisted it would only halt its attacks on Israel once a truce was reached between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

However, in his second speech as Hezbollah’s nominal leader which was announced only minutes before it started, Qassem indicated that Hezbollah trusts Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, to reach a ceasefire agreement.

“We support the political efforts that Nabih Berri is undertaking towards a ceasefire,” said Qassem.

“We have full confidence in Speaker Nabih Berri,” he added. “After the issue of a ceasefire takes shape, and once diplomacy can achieve it, all of the other details can be discussed and decisions can be taken,”

However, Qassem added, “If the enemy [Israel] continues its war, then the battlefield will decide.”

“Qassem’s speech is tantamount to handing over the reins to Nabih Berri,” commented unnamed Lebanese politicians cited by Al-Arabiya.

Berri has been conducting the ceasefire talks with the U.S. and France on behalf of Hezbollah so far. He is the leader of the Shia Amal movement, which is allied with Hezbollah and whose fighters have assisted the group in attacking Israel.

While Amal is seen as more of a political and social movement, it has often taken orders from Hezbollah, the larger and better-armed group.

“The announcement of an agreement to a ceasefire without preconditions was likely coordinated with Iran,” said Ynet’s military analyst Ron Ben Yishai.

Since the elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his designated successor Hashem Safi al-Din, Qassem is nominally the highest-ranking official remaining in the terror group and has given two public speeches that are widely seen as official statements by Hezbollah.

While Hezbollah apparently waived its conditions, French diplomatic sources told the Saudi Al-Arabiya channel that Israel continues insisting on the terror group's disarmament, its withdrawal north of the Litani River, and the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1559 requiring the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon, before agreeing to a truce.

Despite the sudden change in the group’s stance toward a ceasefire, Qassem claimed its abilities were unharmed by Israel’s attacks. “We are firm and, God willing, we will win ... We will not beg for a solution, and we will not scream first.”

He said the Israeli army was “stunned after their army failed to advance on the ground in south Lebanon. Any meters that they advance into are of no value and we are seeking engagement with them,” he claimed, adding that “their losses might be the gateway for ending the war.”

Qassem’s change in tone highlighted Israel’s military success, said U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. Now that Hezbollah is “on the back foot and is getting battered, suddenly they’ve changed their tune and want a ceasefire. I think it’s not surprising given the situation they find themselves in,” he said.

“Obviously, we don’t trust Hezbollah,” Miller added. “But you look at what Hezbollah said in 2006 when 1701 was adopted by the UN Security Council... that they would implement 1701 – and they blew through all of their commitments.”

“So, there is an obvious lack of faith in Hezbollah’s ability to do what it said in 2006 and do what it’s saying it would do now, which is agree to an actual ceasefire that would allow Israeli civilians to return home and allow Lebanese civilians to return home.”