Hezbollah Leader Naim Qassem Rejects Israel-Lebanon Framework As Israeli Attacks Hit Markaba

Lebanon and Israel signed a 14-point framework agreement, but Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected it in a statement on Saturday, calling it “humiliating, shameful and a surrender of sovereignty” for Beirut.

Qassem rejected linking Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon to Hezbollah’s disarmament and said, “We will continue as a resistance in the field to defeat the occupation [Israel] … We did not leave the field under difficult circumstances and we will not abandon it,” as Israeli attacks hit southern Lebanon.

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Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli forces bombed near the southern towns of Markaba and Nabatieh al-Fawqa on Saturday morning, with NNA reporting a strike near Markaba 1.5km (1 mile) from the Israel-Lebanon border.

Middle East Eye reported the bombing came after the two countries signed the 14-point framework agreement hailed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the “first step” in the negotiations.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah sharply criticised the agreement, saying Lebanese authorities would not be able to enforce it without bringing the country to "civil war".

In the same dispute over enforcement, People Daily reported that Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah told Al Jazeera that any attempt by the Lebanese army to enforce a Washington-brokered agreement would lead to “civil war”.

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Lebanese member of parliament and former justice minister Ashraf Rifi praised the agreement, saying Lebanon was finally “acting like a state,” and Middle East Eye quoted him saying, “The notion that a state within a state protects Lebanon has fallen”.

People Daily also reported that Public Prosecutor Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj issued a judicial order tasking Lebanese security forces with preventing riots after Hezbollah supporters protested in Beirut by burning tyres and blocking a road leading to the airport.

As airstrikes intensified, Hezbollah issued an evacuation warning in Hebrew to northern Israeli settlements, urging residents to evacuate up to 5 kilometers from the front line.

Hezbollah’s Military Media said, 'You must evacuate all settlements located within 5 km of the front line... The aggression by your army against Lebanese sovereignty, its attacks on civilians, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the displacement campaign it is waging will not go unanswered.'

In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah announced bombardment of a gathering of Israeli military vehicles at the new site established in the town of Markaba for the third time, and it also targeted the Israeli site Malikiya with rocket salvos.

Al-Manar TV Lebanon said an Israeli bombing hit the town of Markaba in southern Lebanon about 4 hours ago, while People Daily reported NNA said Israeli forces bombed near Markaba on Saturday morning 1.5km from the Israel-Lebanon border.