Hezbollah's Nawaf Moussawi: Only force can compel Israel to leave Lebanon

Hezbollah's Nawaf Moussawi: Only force can compel Israel to leave Lebanon Force must be used to liberate South Lebanon because Israel will never be convinced to withdraw through negotiations alone, senior Hezbollah official Nawaf Moussawi told Middle East Eye. Speaking to MEE in a wide-ranging interview at his Beirut office, Moussawi insisted that Lebanese-Israeli negotiations would remain fruitless as long as President Joseph Aoun comes to the table lacking any sort of leverage over the Israelis. Moussawi, who, as head of Hezbollah’s border and resources department, is responsible for many Israeli affairs, said the Lebanese armed movement will continue to fight the occupying troops until they completely depart from his country.

“Is there international pressure that would compel the Israelis to withdraw? So far, there is not, just as there was not in Palestine,” he said. “Therefore, we have no choice but to continue fighting the Israeli occupier until it withdraws.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Hezbollah launched cross-border strikes against Israel the day after the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks, initiating a “support front” to draw resources away from Israel’s war machine as the genocide in Gaza began.

Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have fought two wars: the first of which wiped out much of Hezbollah’s military capabilities and senior leadership, including its longtime secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah. “We were fulfilling our duty towards the Palestinian resistance. It was therefore no secret that we were providing them with support wherever we could,” Moussawi said.

The second conflict, which Hezbollah launched in March, was sparked by the US-Israeli war on Iran and the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an important spiritual and political figurehead for the party. It also, Hezbollah and Israeli media reports suggest, pre-empted a new Israeli offensive on Lebanon following a 15-month period when Israel constantly violated a ceasefire and entrenched itself in occupied territory along the bor…