Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Monday that Israel should withdraw from the occupied border areas in southern Lebanon, rejecting the extension of the cease-fire arrangements to Feb. 18.

With a new administration in Washington and a renewed focus on the West Bank, it is in Israel’s interests to maintain the ceasefire in Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire in late November 2024 to end more than a year of fighting.

Lebanese Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Monday that the group would not accept any justifications to extend the period for Israeli troops' withdrawal from southern Lebanon.