Boxer Chandni Mehra

Hezbollah Claims No Official Initiative Received to End Fighting with Israel

Hezbollah’s chief spokesman on Monday said that the group has not received any official proposal to end the war with Israel and was prepared to wage a long fight if needed.”At this stage, we are still testing the waters and presenting initial ideas and having proactive discussions, but so far there is nothing official yet,” Mohammed Afif told reporters in Beirut.His comments came after Israel’s new foreign minister said there has been “certain progress” in efforts to end the fighting with Hezbollah.The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a cease-fire, and there were reports that U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein might return to the region in the coming days.Afif also denied claims by Israeli officials that Hezbollah has lost most of its missile capabilities, pointing to the fact that it is still launching dozens of projectiles a day and targeting areas in central Israel.”I reiterate that our forces on the front lines and our fighters have enough weapons, equipment, and supplies for a long war for which we are prepared for on all fronts,” he said.Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel, and drawing retaliatory strikes, the day after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza ignited the war there.All-out war erupted in September when Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top commanders.Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 3,189 people have been killed and over 14,000 wounded in Lebanon in more than a year of conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.Some 1.2 million people have been displaced.On the Israeli side, 68 soldiers and 41 civilians have been killed in the fighting since October 2023, according to the prime minister’s office.More than 60,000 people have been displaced from their homes.