Hezbollah ceasefire mystery deepens after leader's death
The Lebanese Foreign Minister reported that Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had agreed to halt military actions with Israel temporarily. However, he was killed in an Israeli attack just before a possible ceasefire could take effect. This raises doubts about whether such a plan was indeed approved by Nasrallah himself and, more importantly, whether Benjamin Netanyahu was aware of it.
3:54 PM EDT, October 4, 2024
Lebanon's Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bu Habib, stated in an interview with CNN that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah agreed to a 21-day ceasefire with Israel a few days before his death. Western leaders, including those from the USA and France, urged this move.
Bu Habib stated, "He [Nasrallah] agreed, he agreed," the minister explained during his conversation with American television. The politician clarified that "Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire but consulting with Hezbollah." According to the minister, the head of the Lebanese National Assembly, Nabih Berri, initiated talks with Hezbollah, and the results of these consultations were conveyed to the United States and France.
At the same time, Bu Habib added, "They told us that Mr. Netanyahu agreed on this and so we also got the agreement of Hezbollah on that and you know what happened since then." The Lebanese minister's words referred to the death of Nasrallah on September 27 due to an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Western appeals for a ceasefire
The day before Nasrallah's death, 11 countries, including the United States, France, and the European Union, issued a joint statement calling for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. This was noted "to give diplomacy a chance to succeed and avoid further escalations across the border."
A source familiar with the negotiations, cited by CNN, confirmed that Hezbollah indeed agreed to a temporary ceasefire just before the joint statement was published. At the same time, CNN's source could not confirm unequivocally whether this decision was directly approved by Nasrallah, but Hezbollah's agreement would require, according to arrangements, his approval.
Controversies regarding Nasrallah's role
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller conveyed in an interview that the American administration had not received official confirmation that Nasrallah personally decided on the ceasefire. "I can’t speak to whether he ever agreed to it and told somebody inside Lebanon. Obviously, that could be something that happened that we wouldn’t be aware of. I can tell you that, if that’s true, it was never communicated to us in any way shape or form," Miller said.
In an interview with CNN, the spokesperson added, "I think all of the parties were well aware of the proposals that we were going to put forward, but at no time in those conversations did we get a message that Hezbollah had agreed or was going to agree to it."
CNN also speculated that Hezbollah was waiting for an official announcement of its position for a specific move from Israel. The organization never publicly announced its stance on the ceasefire proposal.
Israeli response and American doubts
The information provided by CNN was supplemented with statements from an anonymous U.S. official who informed that the ceasefire proposed by the USA was to be accepted by Israel. However, just a few hours later, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced further attacks on Hezbollah. Israeli sources explained these actions as a "misunderstanding."
Israeli officials said the proposal was merely beginning a process that could eventually lead to a ceasefire. However, the American administration abandoned pushing the plan after receiving information that Israel intended to conduct a new attack on Nasrallah.
