Hezbollah: Netanyahu seeking to escalate war for electoral purposes

Pars Today — Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to escalate the war in order to serve his electoral interests.

According to Pars Today, citing IRIB, Hezbollah issued a statement in response to the Israeli aggression in southern Lebanon, saying that the Lebanese people woke up early Saturday to intensified hostile actions and a brutal massacre carried out by the criminal Zionist enemy against defenseless civilians in the south.

The statement said the attacks targeted a house on the outskirts of the southern town of Ansar and a building in Deir al-Zahrani, martyring 11 people, including women and children, and injuring 12 others.

Netanyahu seeks to win the approval of the far-right

Hezbollah described the Israeli aggression against southern Lebanon as criminal, saying that the attack adds to the Israeli enemy’s long record of massacres, crimes, bloodshed against Lebanese people, destruction of their homes and farms, and the erasure of entire villages.

The statement said Israel’s escalation, through targeting civilians and expanding the areas being targeted, demonstrates Netanyahu’s desire and determination to intensify the war in order to strengthen his domestic political standing, serve his electoral interests, and win the approval of the far-right.

Lebanese government should abandon direct and humiliating negotiations

The statement said that responsibility for the continued aggression and violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty lies with the Israeli enemy and the United States, which provides it with the necessary support and cover.

It added that the Lebanese authorities should seek available ways to put an end to this aggression and should not insist on continuing the path of direct and humiliating negotiations or offering free concessions to the enemy, especially given all the crimes and acts of aggression it has committed, as well as its declared hostile and expansionist ambitions toward Lebanon.

Relying on US mediation is a futile and false hope

Hezbollah added that the time has come for the Lebanese authorities to comprehensively reassess their calculations in order to safeguard Lebanon’s sovereignty and rights, rather than continuing policies that have proven incapable of protecting Lebanon and its people.

It also called on the Lebanese authorities to adopt a national, courageous and responsible position, stop pursuing US-led negotiations, and recognize that relying on US guarantees and mediation is a futile and false hope, because the United States is a partner of the Israeli enemy in its crimes and massacres against Lebanon.

US is seeking the interests and security of the Israeli regime

Hezbollah stressed that the recent brazen and extortionist remarks by the US ambassador to Lebanon, in which he called for the surrender of the resistance’s weapons—while his duty is to pressure the Israeli enemy to withdraw from the occupied areas—only confirm that the United States is seeking to advance the interests and security of the Israeli enemy at the expense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and people.

Hezbollah said that all Lebanese, across all political factions, must be aware of the dangers posed by the approach adopted by the Lebanese authorities toward Lebanon, its unity, security, and independence.

It added that the Israeli enemy must clearly understand that its aggression, attacks, and attempts to impose a fait accompli cannot continue and will be met with an appropriate response in defense of Lebanon, its people, sovereignty, and national dignity.