Lebanon's Hezbollah dismissed the meaning of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Israel, saying the truce lost significance after what it described as continued Israeli hostile acts in the south of the country. The statement came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a three-week extension to the agreement following White House meetings with Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors.
The ceasefire arrangement between Lebanon and Israel had been scheduled to expire on Sunday. In a response to the extension, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad criticized Israel's conduct in southern Lebanon, saying it undermined the ceasefire's value. Fayyad singled out "assassinations, shelling, and gunfire" and the demolition of villages and towns in the south as reasons the ceasefire was rendered "meaningless," and reiterated that the group retained the right to respond.
"It is essential to point out that the ceasefire is meaningless in light of Israel’s insistence on hostile acts, including assassinations, shelling, and gunfire" and its demolition of villages and towns in the south.
Hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel reignited on March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Iran in the regional war, according to the account in the statement. The ceasefire covering Lebanon was negotiated separately from U.S. efforts to address the United States' conflict with Iran, although Iran had urged that Lebanon be included in any broader truce.
The U.S.-mediated ceasefire took effect on April 16 and has coincided with a marked reduction in overall hostilities. Despite that reduction, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange attacks in southern Lebanon. Israel has maintained troops in an area it describes as a self-declared "buffer zone," and Hezbollah has said that any Israeli aggression against Lebanese targets permits it to respond proportionately.
Fayyad's remarks emphasized that, in Hezbollah's view, the continuation of Israeli operations in the south sustains a state of contention despite the formal extension of the ceasefire. The statement makes clear that the group considers its right to retaliate to be preserved so long as Israeli actions against Lebanese targets continue.
Contextual note - The information presented here is limited to the details included in the official statements and announcements referenced above. No additional developments beyond those statements are addressed.