Hezbollah urges Lebanese govt. to act after Hamas-allied leader assassinated
The Hezbollah resistance movement has condemned the Israeli assassination of a leader of Lebanon’s al-Jamaa al-Islamiya as “treacherous and cowardly,” urging the Lebanese government to take serious action to halt Israeli atrocities.
Sheikh Abdul Majid Ammar, the head of Hezbollah’s Islamic Relations Office, stated that the government must fully assume its national responsibilities.
“It must move beyond the position of a helpless spectator, refrain from merely issuing ineffective condemnation statements, and take serious, urgent, and effective steps at all levels and by all available means.”
Sheikh Hussein Atwi, a leading commander in the armed branch of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, allied with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, was targeted by an Israeli drone on Tuesday near the Lebanese town of Baawarta while driving from his home to his office in Beirut.
The Israeli regime has conducted a series of such assassinations in Lebanon over the past months, violating a ceasefire deal signed in November last year.
On Tuesday, another Israeli attack killed at least one person in the town of Haniyeh in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon.
The Hezbollah official described the act as part of the ongoing aggression of the enemy, its violation of Lebanese sovereignty, and its attempts to undermine the resistance in all its forms. “This only reaffirms that the resistance project is unified and that the enemy is one,” he said.
Sheikh Ammar added that the Israeli regime’s persistence in its crimes, with blatant American encouragement, is a result of the failure of the countries sponsoring the ceasefire agreement and the international community’s negligence in fulfilling its responsibilities.
The Hezbollah leader said that resistance was a “path and an option,” and it would take appropriate action at the time of its choosing.
“This emboldens the enemy to continue its savage behavior without any deterrent,” Sheikh Ammar said.
Israel was supposed to withdraw its forces from Lebanon under the ceasefire agreement by January, but refused to do so.
In late January, Lebanon announced its decision to extend the ceasefire with Israel until February.
Although the February deadline has passed, Israel continues to occupy five significant regions in southern Lebanon, all situated near the border.
Lebanon has condemned the continued presence of Israeli military forces, viewing it as a violation of the ceasefire agreement and the established timeline for withdrawal.
Senior officials in Beirut have expressed their commitment to take “all necessary measures” to remove the occupying troops from the nation.
