Hezbollah deputy chief backs Lebanon ceasefire efforts, omits mention of Gaza deal

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said in comments broadcast on Tuesday that his movement supports efforts to reach a ceasefire for Lebanon, but for the first time omitted any mention of a Gaza truce deal as a pre-condition to halting the group's fire on Israel.

Qassem said Hezbollah supported efforts by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to secure a halt to fighting, which has escalated in recent weeks with Israeli ground incursions and the killing of some of Hezbollah's top leaders, including secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

"We support the political activity being led by Berri under the title of a ceasefire," Qassem said in a 30-minute televised address.

"In any case, after the issue of a ceasefire takes shape, and once diplomacy can achieve it, all of the other details can be discussed and decisions can be taken," he said. "If the enemy (Israel) continues its war, then the battlefield will decide."

Hezbollah began launching missiles at Israel a year ago in support of its ally Hamas, which is at war with Israel following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hezbollah's top leaders have repeatedly stated over the last year that the group will not stop its fire until a Gaza ceasefire was reached but Qassem's address appeared to mark a departure from that policy.

Israeli strikes have hit the group's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs on a nightly basis, and ground incursions expanded on Tuesday to additional parts of Lebanon's southern border with Israel.

Qassem simultaneously struck a defiant tone, saying the group's capabilities were intact, that it had increased its rocket fire on Israel and that it was itching for "clashes" with Israeli troops in Lebanon.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Clauda Tanios in Dubai; Editing by Alison Williams and Timothy Heritage)