A sharp public confrontation erupted in Lebanon on Monday between Hezbollah and the country’s president over direct negotiations with Israel, deepening a political rift as a fragile ceasefire continues to hold under strain.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem issued a statement describing Lebanon’s direct negotiations with Israel as a “grave sin,” calling on the government to back down from what he said was putting the country in a spiral of instability.
“We categorically reject direct negotiations with Israel, and those in power should know that their actions will not benefit Lebanon or themselves,” Qassem said in a statement aired by Al-Manar. He insisted that direct negotiations and their outcomes “are as if they do not exist as far as we are concerned, and they do not concern us, neither closely nor distantly.”
Qassem demanded that the Lebanese government annul a March 2 decision that criminalises Hezbollah, as a condition for any internal dialogue, and vowed that the group would respond to Israeli aggression regardless of diplomatic developments.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun fired back within hours. Aoun said that negotiating with Israel was “not treason,” adding that treason was committed by those who took the country to war to serve foreign interests, a pointed reference to Hezbollah’s decision to enter the conflict on Iran’s side.
“My goal is to reach an end to the state of war with Israel, along the lines of an armistice agreement,” Aoun told visitors at the Presidential Palace, adding that any other statements carried no official Lebanese cover.
Lebanon and Israel’s ambassadors met twice in Washington in recent weeks, the first such direct meetings in decades, facilitated by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Following the first round of talks, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire that took effect on April 17, later extended by three weeks after a second round.
Despite the truce, Israel continued striking targets inside Lebanon, with the Israeli army announcing on Monday a fresh wave of strikes on the eastern Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon targeting what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure. At least 2,500 people, including more than 170 children, have been killed in Lebanon since fighting resumed on March 2.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Hezbollah’s continued violations were effectively disintegrating the ceasefire, saying Israeli forces would respond with force to any security breaches.
