Official: Hezbollah will not engage in confrontation with Lebanese army

A high-ranking Hezbollah official says the Lebanese resistance movement will never engage in a confrontation with the army, and that his group remains the most effective force against Israeli occupation forces.

"The Lebanese Army Command enjoys the necessary political and social prudence to serve national interests. Hezbollah will never engage in a confrontation with the Lebanese military," Wafiq Safa, head of Hezbollah's Liaison and Coordination Unit, said on Monday.

Hezbollah dealt painful blows to Israeli forces stationed in southern Lebanon, carried out multiple retaliatory operations and took scores of Israeli troops hostage in 2000, forcing the occupation troops to fully withdraw from the region, he said.

Safa said the resistance movement takes pride in its martyrs, their families, veteran fighters, members being held in Israeli prisons, as well as its bright history.

"Just as southern Lebanon was liberated through crippling strikes in 2000, the same strategy works for the time being. Retaliatory operations will continue unabated," the senior Hezbollah official said.

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon injure soldier amid ceasefire violations

The Lebanese army says a soldier has been “moderately wounded” after an Israeli strike targeted an army barracks in the southern city of Nabatieh.

He went on to level criticism at the Beirut government, stating that diplomacy has failed to cease Israeli acts of aggression against Lebanon.

Safa said the ongoing Israeli atrocities clearly show that the Tel Aviv regime understands nothing but the language of force, and that Hezbollah fighters need to be redeployed in southern Lebanon.

He also censured direct negotiations between representatives from Israel and Lebanon, saying such talks are in favor of Washington and Tel Aviv.

The senior Hezbollah official said Lebanese authorities failed to tap the resistance movement's capabilities due to pressure from the United States and Israel.

"Despite substantial concessions, the Beirut government could not achieve a ceasefire."

The Hezbollah official also hailed Iran's steadfastness and resilience in the face of US aggression, saying the Islamic Republic could finally impose its conditions, among them a ceasefire in Lebanon.

"There would be no agreement (between Tehran and Washington) unless Lebanon is included in its terms and conditions. Hezbollah, Pakistani mediators and the US side have all been notified of this key issue."

He said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to attain his objectives in Lebanon, and is faced with a serious crisis in the occupied territories.

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