A top Hezbollah official said the group won't observe any agreement reached by Israel in Lebanon, which are set to engage in negotiations in the U.S. on Tuesday
Concretely, Al Arabiya noted that the remarks were made by Wafik Saha. They follow those of the group's top leader, Naim Qassem, who said the entity "absolutely rejects" the talks.
He asked Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to not engage, saying continued Israeli attacks in the country have continued with U.S. support.
Qassem also claimed that Israel also intends to ultimately annex Lebanon as part of a "Greater Israel" project, which claims that the country seeks to dominate most of the Middle East.
"Our choice is resistance and confrontation in the face of this enemy, and we consider these negotiations to be worthless and will only provide the enemy with free concessions," Qassem said, adding that negotiations "will only bring defeat for Lebanon's government and people."
Fighting continues in the meantime, with Reuters reporting that Israel launched an assault to seize a key town in Southern Lebanon from Hezbollah fighters.
The town in question is Bint Jbeil, and was encircled by Israel forces, which later launched a ground assault. An Israeli official told the outlet that the town will be controlled within days and only a few Hezbollah operatives remained in the town.
The Associated Press detailed that, when Israel occupied southern Lebanon until its withdrawal in the year 2000, it used the town as a strategic stronghold. Hezbollah later took back the town and decades-long leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech in a stadium there. The Israeli military on Monday published a satellite image showing the stadium destroyed in a strike.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the military will expand a buffer zone in southern Lebanon to protect residents of northern Israel.
