Beirut, June 6 (IANS) Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has slammed Iran for using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the United States and criticised Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem, saying the Lebanese people were tired of war and deserved to live in peace.
Aoun made the remarks in an interview with CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour, which was released by the Lebanese Presidency on Friday (local time), reports Xinhua news agency.
On Thursday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement that Iran’s primary condition for accepting the April 8 truce with the United States and Israel was a comprehensive ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon.
“This is not your country; it is our country,” said Aoun in the interview, noting it was unacceptable for regional powers to use Lebanon to advance their own interests while Lebanese civilians continued to bear the consequences of conflict through deaths, displacement, and destruction.
The Lebanese president stressed that negotiations remain the only viable way to end the conflict between Lebanon and Israel. He noted that the Lebanese state and government must address the Hezbollah issue domestically by tackling the root causes behind the group’s armed presence, including Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory and an end to the conflict.
Aoun noted that the overwhelming majority of Lebanese from all sects and regions were exhausted by decades of conflict.
“They are the Lebanese people, not Naim Qassem’s people,” said Aoun, commenting on statements by Qassem opposing the agreement and threatening to bring down the government through street protests.
Also on Friday, at least 13 people were killed and 15 others wounded in a series of Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks across southern Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), the strikes hit at least eight towns, including Doueir, Habboush, and Burj Qalaouiyah.
In the Tyre district, an airstrike near Jabal Amel Hospital destroyed a building housing a bank and wounded 12 civilians.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters targeted Israeli troop and vehicle positions near Shaqif (Beaufort) Castle and other areas.
Late Friday, Lebanon’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center said in a statement that an Israeli airstrike on the town of Zebdine killed five, including a woman and a medical staffer, and wounded two.
According to Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry Emergency Operations Center, the cumulative toll from Israeli attacks since March 2 has reached 3,558 killed and 10,870 wounded.
The Israel Defense Forces(IDF) said in a statement that it killed two Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon on Friday.
According to the military, the two were involved in an earlier clash with troops from Sayeret Givati, an IDF elite reconnaissance and special operations unit, during which an Israeli officer was seriously wounded, and the commander of Sayeret Givati sustained light injuries.
The statement added that the IDF later conducted searches in the area, located and killed two militants involved in the incident, and simultaneously struck additional Hezbollah infrastructure targets in the area.
–IANS
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