Conflict

Nasrallah had agreed to ceasefire with Netanyahu just before Hezbollah leader was killed by Israel: Lebanon

Hassan Nasrallah. [File Photo]

Former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to a ceasefire just before Nasrallah was killed in an airstrike in Beirut last week, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib revealed today, reports said.

Speaking to an American broadcaster, Bou Habib mentioned that both the U.S. and French representatives were informed of the ceasefire agreement, NDTV reported.

Nasrallah was inside a bunker in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh when Israeli bombs struck on September 27. Hezbollah’s statement confirmed his death but did not specify the cause. However, Reuters reported that his body had no direct wounds, with blunt trauma from the blast’s force believed to be the cause of death.

“He (Nasrallah) agreed to the ceasefire,” Bou Habib told PBS, adding that Lebanon gave full consent to the truce after consulting Hezbollah and communicated this to the US and France.

Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri had also consulted with Hezbollah and informed American and French officials, who confirmed Netanyahu’s agreement to the ceasefire plan, Bou Habib said.

The U.S., France, and their allies had announced a 21-day ceasefire on September 25, following a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron during the UN General Assembly. However, Netanyahu rejected the proposal a day later, ordering continued military action.

According to Reuters, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had warned Nasrallah to flee Lebanon days before the Israeli strike that killed him.

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