Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem: Israel must leave Lebanon - all of it

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem gave a speech today (Sunday) in which he demanded that Israel evacuate all of Lebanon by the agreed deadline of February 18, or this Tuesday, according to Kann reporter Roi Kais.

In his speech, Qassem addressed Arab leaders preparing to contend with President Donald Trump's plan to relocate Gazan citizens to other countries: "When you formulate plans to deal with it, take into account that Hezbollah is ready to help prevent Trump's immigration plan."

He also said that Israel must fully withdraw from the territory it "invaded" in Lebanon on February 18, and not remain in any additional positions: "This is the agreement. The responsibility of the Lebanese state exclusively and fundamentally at the present time is to invest all efforts to cause Israel to withdraw on February 18 and not give it an opportunity to remain in certain positions or in a single position." According to him, if Israel remains anywhere in Lebanon after February 18, it will be considered an occupier and everyone knows how to deal with an occupier.

Qassem also referred to the crisis of preventing the landing of the Iranian plane on suspicion of transferring funds to Hezbollah and said that the problem is not the security of civilians at Beirut airport, but the problem is the implementation of an Israeli order. He reportedly called on the Lebanese government to reconsider the decision to prevent Iranian planes from landing and to restore flights as a sovereign decision.

Israel reportedly arrived at an agreement to remain in five strategic locations along the Lebanese border, even after its main withdrawal on February 18, with the Trump administration, after its initial attempt to extend the withdrawal deadline for another ten days was rejected.

These locations are meant to serve as observation points ensuring that Hezbollah does not re-entrench itself along the border.