Hezbollah Chief Says Indirect Talks on Ceasefire Possible Only if Israel Stops Attacks

Image grab from the pre-recorded televised address of Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem
Image grab from the pre-recorded televised address of Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem
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Hezbollah Chief Says Indirect Talks on Ceasefire Possible Only if Israel Stops Attacks

Image grab from the pre-recorded televised address of Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem
Image grab from the pre-recorded televised address of Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that only developments on the battlefield, not political moves, would bring an end to the hostilities between the Lebanese armed group and the Israeli military.
"I will tell you very clearly, our conviction is that only one thing can stop this war of aggression, and that is the battlefield," said Qassem, who was elected as Hezbollah's secretary general following the killing of his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli strikes in September.
He said that he did not believe that "political action" would bring about an end to the more than year-long conflict, playing out in parallel with Israel's war in Gaza.
In a pre-recorded televised address, Qassem said there would be a road to indirect negotiations through the Lebanese state only if Israel decided to stop its attacks on Lebanon, Reuters reported.
"When the enemy decides to stop the aggression, there is a path for negotiations that we have clearly defined - indirect negotiations through the Lebanese state and Speaker (of parliament Nabih) Berri," said Qassem.
He said those talks could only proceed if they guaranteed "the protection of Lebanese sovereignty in full, without anything missing," but did not provide further details.
Israel says it aims to return residents displaced from northern Israel to their homes and ensure that Iran-backed Hezbollah will no longer pose a threat to Israel's security.
Last week, Israeli public broadcaster Kan published a draft US proposal on a 60-day truce that included a "side letter" between the US and Israel, granting Israel the right to take action against imminent threats to its security in Lebanon.
Lebanese officials told Reuters that Israel's insistence on "direct enforcement" of a deal would breach state sovereignty.



Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 11 People in Northern Gaza

 Relatives mourn the death of Atef Al-Atout, a Palestinian man who his family said was shot dead as he fled Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip toward in Gaza City, in front of the al-Maamadani hospital on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
Relatives mourn the death of Atef Al-Atout, a Palestinian man who his family said was shot dead as he fled Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip toward in Gaza City, in front of the al-Maamadani hospital on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 11 People in Northern Gaza

 Relatives mourn the death of Atef Al-Atout, a Palestinian man who his family said was shot dead as he fled Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip toward in Gaza City, in front of the al-Maamadani hospital on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
Relatives mourn the death of Atef Al-Atout, a Palestinian man who his family said was shot dead as he fled Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip toward in Gaza City, in front of the al-Maamadani hospital on November 6, 2024. (AFP)

Palestinian medical officials say Israeli strikes have killed at least 11 people in the northern Gaza Strip.

A strike hit a house in the northern town of Beit Lahia, killing at least six people from the same family, according to the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service.

The dead include a mother and her three children, as well as the children’s grandmother and uncle, according to a list provided by the service.

In the urban refugee camp of Jabalia, al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of five men killed in an Israeli strike.

The military says it only targets fighters and tries to avoid harming civilians. It rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

Israel has been waging a major offensive over the past month in northern Gaza, the most heavily destroyed and isolated part of the territory, where it says Hamas has regrouped.