Beirut (Reuters) – The head of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah mentioned on Sunday that Israeli troops should retire from the Lebanese territory in full inside a deadline of February 18, saying that he had no “any pretext” to keep up a army presence in any place of the Southern Lebanon.
Under a truce mediated by Washington in November, the Israeli troops obtained 60 days to retire from the southern Lebanon, the place they’d led a land offensive towards the fighters from Hezbollah supported by Iran for the reason that starting of October.
That deadline was subsequently prolonged to February 18, however the army of Israel requested to maintain the troops in 5 seats within the southern Lebanon, Sources to Reuters mentioned final week.
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In a recorded tv speech, the secretary normal of Hezbollah Naim Qassem mentioned: “Israel should fully retire on February 18, he has no pretext, no 5 factors or different particulars … This is the settlement.”
Qassem mentioned that any Israeli army presence on Lebanese soil after February 18 could be thought of an employment power.
“Everyone is aware of how an occupation is confronted,” mentioned Qassem, with out explicitly threatening that his group resumed assaults towards Israel.
The public broadcaster of Israel mentioned on Wednesday that the United States had approved a “lengthy -term” presence of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
During the transmission of Qassem’s speech, at the very least three Israeli air assaults hit the Eastern Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. Israel’s military claimed to have performed strikes after figuring out Hezbollah’s exercise in websites containing launchers and different weapons.
Qassem additionally invited the Lebanese authorities to rethink his ban on touchdown Iranian flights to Beirut.
The Lebanese authorities prohibited flights from the touchdown till February 18 following the Israeli accusations in line with which Tehran was utilizing civil planes to smuggle cash in Beirut to arm Hezbollah.
The choice blocked dozens of Lebanese residents in Iran, the place they’d been on a spiritual pilgrimage with plans to return by Iran Mahan Air. Lebanon despatched two of its planes to get better them, however Iran has forbidden them to land in Tehran.
Hezbollah organized a protest exterior Beirut airport on Saturday, the place his supporters had been tears from Lebanese troops.
Qassem described the ban on Lebanon on Iranian planes as “the implementation of an Israeli order”.
“Let the airplane land and we are going to see what Israel will do,” he mentioned.
(Report of Maya Gebeily; ASSEMBLY OF JAN HARVEY)
