Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on the day its leader died, according to Agence France-Presse
Hezbollah had informed Lebanese authorities of its ceasefire agreement with Israel on the day its secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli attack, Agence France-Presse reports, citing a Lebanese government source. Until then, the pro-Iran movement conditioned any ceasefire in Lebanon on the cessation of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
“On September 27, Hezbollah officially informed the Lebanese government, through the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, that it accepted the international ceasefire initiative.”this source said, on condition of anonymity. Nabih Berri leads the Shiite Amal movement, an ally of Hezbollah.
The Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, was at the UN that day, where France and the United States, joined by the Arab countries, had presented a proposal for a twenty-one-day ceasefire. Mikati informed his interlocutors of Hezbollah’s position, according to the same source, and international negotiators were also awaiting approval from the Israeli government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the same day at the UN to continue fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon. Just after his speech, the Israeli air force carried out a spectacular attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, in which Hassan Nasrallah was killed. Since his death, the Lebanese government “He no longer has contact with Hezbollah”the source added.
