BEIRUT: Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said today he would agree to a ceasefire with Israel under acceptable terms but said a viable deal has yet to be presented.
“If the Israelis decide that they want to stop the aggression, we say we accept, but on the conditions that we see as appropriate and suitable,” Qassem said in a pre-recorded speech, though he added a suitable agreement has not been offered.
Qassem also said he would stick to the war strategy laid out by his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel last month after full-scale fighting broke out.
“My work programme is a continuation of the work programme of our leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” Qassem said in his first remarks as Hezbollah leader, pledging to press on with “the war plan that he (Nasrallah) developed with the leadership” of the Iran-backed group.