Hezbollah says ‘ceiling’ of negotiations with Israel is ‘reciprocal security’

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that "reciprocal security" is the "ceiling" of negotiations with Israel. "The ceiling of negotiations with the Israeli enemy is reciprocal security, and there is no other ceiling,” he said in a televised speech. He called for giving priority to halting the Israeli assaults, Israel’s withdrawal from all Lebanese territory, the return of prisoners, the return of the displaced to their areas and reconstruction. "Israel's project in Lebanon was to eliminate Hezbollah socially, militarily, and culturally, which means eliminating a large segment of the Lebanese people through killing, displacement, and relocation in order to facilitate the annexation of Lebanon," Qassem said. "We thwarted the Greater Israel project, and it has been unable to control and establish itself on our land," he added. The Hezbollah chief said his group carried out 3,185 operations against Israel since March 2, with a daily average of 30 attacks. "Any project to disarm Hezbollah will not succeed, and this scheme has failed," he said. Tensions have continued to flare along the Lebanese-Israeli border despite a recent understanding between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending their military conflict that erupted after Israel and the US launched attacks against Iran on Feb. 28. Iranian officials have repeatedly said that ending Israeli attacks across regional fronts, particularly in Lebanon, is among the main objectives of the memorandum of understanding expected to be signed between Tehran and Washington on Friday. Israeli officials, however, have indicated that military operations in Lebanon will continue despite the agreement, raising doubts about prospects for a de-escalation on the Lebanese front. Israel has been waging an offensive on Lebanon since March 2 that has left thousands killed and wounded and more than 1 million displaced, according to the latest official figures. Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the previous war between 2023 and 2024. During the current campaign, Israeli forces pushed more than 10 kilometers into Lebanon.