BEIRUT (AP) 鈥 The leader of Lebanon鈥檚 militant Hezbollah group said on Friday that its fighters will not disarm as long as Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon and the Israeli air force regularly violates Lebanese air space.
addressed supporters in a speech broadcast on Hezbollah鈥檚 television station. Kassem took over Hezbollah after , his successor and other top Hezbollah figures last year, decimating the group's leadership.
Kassem said Hezbollah had implemented its commitments related to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the fighting in Hezbollah鈥檚 latest, 14-month war with Israel.
Since the ceasefire went into effect in late November, Israeli airstrikes have killed scores of people in Lebanon including civilians and Hezbollah members. Israel says it鈥檚 targeting Hezbollah holdouts in southern Lebanon.
On Tuesday, the office of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said that at least 71 civilians, including 14 women and nine children, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect.
Hezbollah launched its own attacks on Israel a day after the with the Palestinian militants鈥 attack on southern Israel, saying it was doing so to ease the pressure on Gaza by keeping part of the Israeli military busy along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon.
In response, Israeli troops pushed into Lebanon. The 14 months of the Hezbollah-Israel war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused destruction that will take , according to the World Bank.
As part of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull out from parts of southern Lebanon and give up its military positions and weapons south of the Litani River while Israeli forces were to pull back into Israel. The Lebanese army was to take over Hezbollah's positions and guarantee security in the south, along with the U.N. peacekeeping mission.
Israel withdrew much of its troops from southern Lebanon in February but kept territory in what Lebanon says is a violation of the ceasefire deal.
Last week, deputy U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East and called on the Lebanese state to assert its control all over Lebanon 鈥 and not only in the south along the border with Israel south of the Litani River.
鈥淲e will not allow anyone to remove Hezbollah鈥檚 weapons,鈥 Kassem said. 鈥淭hese weapons gave life and freedom to our people."
Kassem spoke hours after two separate Israeli drones killed two people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it killed two Hezbollah members in the strikes.
鈥淒oes anyone expect us to discuss a national defense strategy as warplanes fly over our heads and there is occupation in south Lebanon,鈥 Kassem asked. 鈥淭hese are not discussions. This is surrender. Let Israel withdraw first and stop its flights in the air.鈥
