Hezbollah says Lebanese left with no choice but to resist occupation

Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc urged on Thursday Arab and foreign embassies to inform their governments of the daily Israeli aggressions, over the course of fifteen months, since a truce was reached in November 2024.

"That agreement obligated both sides to cease all forms of hostilities and mandated the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the territories it occupied in southern Lebanon. While Lebanon has strictly adhered to this agreement, the Israeli side has continued its daily aggressions," the letter said.

Hezbollah argues that political and diplomatic means have failed to halt the Israeli aggressions as the Lebanese government has been unable to compel Israel and the sponsors of the agreement to implement it and the committee tasked with enforcing the agreement (the mechanism) has "deliberately" failed to fulfill its role.

"Our people are left with no choice but to resort to their human right to legitimate self-defense to defend their existence, their sovereignty and independence, and their land and resources — as guaranteed by the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Taif Agreement," Hezbollah said, adding that "no one can strip this human right from a people facing slaughter while their land remains under occupation."

The statement cited Israeli violations including the destruction and bulldozing of border towns and villages, the expulsion of civilians and preventing them from returning to their homes, the targeting of paramedics, journalists, Lebanese army soldiers and UNIFIL peacekeepers, and the "Black Wednesday" strikes on Beirut -- which Hezbollah described as a massacre against civilians.

On April 8, after the Pakistani Prime Minister announced a ceasefire covering Lebanon, the Israeli army struck over 100 targets simultaneously in just 10 minutes across Lebanon, without any prior warning or evacuation orders, including in Beirut, Dahieh, the south and the east. The strikes killed more than 350 people and wounded more than 1,200, including dozens of women and over a hundred children.

In its statement, Hezbollah accused Israel of committing war crimes and pursuing expansionist settlement goals and demanded compelling Israel to implement the ceasefire.

"Our demand as Lebanese, committed to their country's sovereignty, independence, and freedom, is the cessation of all forms of aggression by air, land, and sea, and the halting of hostilities, including the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon's internationally recognized borders, the release of detainees from Israeli prisons, the return of residents to their villages, and the reconstruction of those villages."