Will Hezbollah ceasefire follow Gaza truce?

Hezbollah pledges to stop attacks on northern Israel after truce between Jerusalem and Hamas, but won’t say if an unofficial end to the fighting will be enough for the terror group to end its aggression.

By World Israel News Staff

The second-highest ranking official in Hezbollah pledged that the terror group would immediately stop its attacks on northern Israel, should the IDF and Hamas agree to a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

“If there is a ceasefire in Gaza, we will stop without any discussion,” Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, told The Associated Press during an interview in Lebanon.

Qassem reiterated Hezbollah talking points regarding its daily attacks on Israel, saying that it was serving as a “support front” for Hamas.

He clarified that “if the war [between Israel and Hamas] stops, this military support will no longer exist.”

The Biden administration has long pushed for a truce between Israel and Hamas, as such an agreement would also cause Hezbollah to cease its aggression against Israel.

However, a formal ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas seems unlikely, as the terror group refuses to negotiate in good faith.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently announced that the Israeli army is wrapping up its operations in the Strip and scaling down the intensity of the fighting.

However, Netanyahu has also stated that Israel will maintain a security presence in the coastal enclave for the long-term, including Israeli troops physically present on the ground.

While not signified by an official ceasefire, some diplomats and officials have suggested that the end of the Israeli offensive may be sufficient for Hezbollah to end hostilities.

Qassem was deliberately ambiguous regarding whether Hezbollah could commit to stopping attacks against Israel, in the absence of a formal truce between Jerusalem and Hamas.

“If what happens in Gaza is a mix between ceasefire and no ceasefire, war and no war, we can’t answer [how we would react] now, because we don’t know its shape, its results, its impacts,” Qassem told AP.

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are high, as reports emerge that an Israeli offensive against the Lebanon-based terror group is imminent.