US Doing Everything for Israeli Control Over Lebanon – Hezbollah Leader
Hezbollah fighters parade in front of a replica of the Dome of the Rock Mosque during a rally to mark Jerusalem day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 14, 2023. File photo.
BEIRUT (Sputnik) – The United States is exerting all possible pressure on the Lebanese authorities in order to disarm the Hezbollah movement for the expansion of Israel’s influence within Lebanon, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem said on Wednesday. “The US is ready to hand Lebanon over completely to Israel. The US has refused to fulfill its obligations to Lebanon, and therefore the issue of surrendering the movement’s weapons has become a condition for unanswered steps by the enemy [Israel], be it peacefully or by force,” Qassem said in a video address transmitted by Al Mayadeen broadcaster. The US and Israel have one goal – “to disarm Lebanon so that it become a tasty morsel as part of the implementation of the ‘great Israel’ project,” he added. Qassem called on all political forces in the country to sit down at the negotiating table, setting as a priority the preservation of national unity, an end to the Israeli occupation and the release of prisoners from Israel. 
WorldHezbollah Warns Israel: ‘Time Is Not Infinite’19 April, 03:21 GMTLebanese authorities have repeatedly said that Israel continues to systematically violate Lebanon’s sovereignty, despite the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024. The Israeli armed forces maintain a presence at five strategic points in southern Lebanon, including the northern part of the village of Ghajar, which the Lebanese authorities consider to be a continuing occupation and a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The Lebanese Health Ministry said that over 235 people have been killed and over 500 injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since November 2024. The Israeli army, in turn, claims that the strikes are targeting the military infrastructure of Hezbollah and are aimed at eliminating the leadership of its military wing. Israel has repeatedly emphasized that it will continue to strike Lebanon in order to eliminate the threat posed by the Shia movement.
