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- Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his group would only stop its exchanges of fire if a full ceasefire was reached for Gaza
- 鈥淥n that day, when the shooting stops in Gaza, we will stop the shooting in the south鈥�
BEIRUT: The head of Lebanon鈥檚 Hezbollah said on Tuesday that his armed group鈥檚 cross-border shelling into Israel would only end when Israel鈥檚 鈥渁ggression鈥� on the Gaza Strip stops, saying diplomatic efforts so far to bring a halt to hostilities along Lebanon鈥檚 border seemed to only benefit Israel.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been trading fire with the Israeli military across Lebanon鈥檚 southern border in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, which launched a cross-border assault from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Oct. 7 that was met with heavy Israeli bombardment by land, air and sea.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his group would only stop its exchanges of fire if a full ceasefire was reached for Gaza.
鈥淥n that day, when the shooting stops in Gaza, we will stop the shooting in the south,鈥� he said in a televised address.
He said many foreign 鈥渄elegations鈥� had traveled to Beirut with 鈥減roposals鈥� to end hostilities in southern Lebanon, but said they only seemed to 鈥渉ave one goal, which is: the security of Israel, the protection of Israel.鈥�
The foreign ministers of France, Britain, and other countries have traveled to Lebanon in recent weeks in an attempt to bring calm to the border.
France鈥檚 foreign minister delivered a written proposal to Beirut that calls for fighters including Hezbollah鈥檚 elite Radwan unit to withdraw 10 km (6 miles) from the border, among other measures, according to a document seen by Reuters.
Without specifying the French proposal, Nasrallah said one delegation had 鈥減resented a paper as a mediator.鈥�
鈥淵ou read the paper 鈥� there鈥檚 nothing. There鈥檚 Israel鈥檚 security,鈥� he said.
Nasrallah said that if Israel widened the war further in Lebanon, his group would do the same.
The cross-border shelling has already killed around 200 people in Lebanon, including more than 170 Hezbollah fighters, as well as 10 Israeli troops and five Israeli civilians. It has also displaced tens of thousands of people in each country.
Nasrallah said residents of northern Israel 鈥渨ill not return鈥� to their homes, and threatened that even more would be displaced.