Hezbollah is willing to cooperate with a ceasefire with Israel. For now.

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As a 10-day ceasefire appeared to hold between Hezbollah and Israel, the leader of the Iran-backed militant group said on April 18 that it was “fully open” to cooperating with the Lebanese government, but laid out difficult conditions for a path forward.

While he celebrated the truce, Mr Naim Kassem, the leader of the Lebanese militant group, said that Hezbollah would keep its fighters at the ready. He listed five conditions for extending the peace with Israel – many echoing long-standing demands by the group that have been difficult to implement.

Mr Kassem’s conditions included the “permanent cessation” of Israeli attacks on Lebanese targets and Israel’s complete troop withdrawal.

That will be a tall order. In March, Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of Iran. Israel responded by launching a sweeping ground invasion of Lebanon’s south, a stronghold of the militant group, and has signalled that its forces would occupy much of the territory even after the current conflict.

While Mr Kassem said that Hezbollah would remain militarily prepared for any Israeli violations of the ceasefire, on April 16, the US State Department stated that, as part of the ceasefire, Lebanon and Israel have reiterated the position that the group, which is also a political party, should not bear arms.

Disarming Hezbollah, however, has been a long-elusive goal. The Lebanese government has no direct control over the militant group, which has resisted surrendering its weapons, and is believed to be more powerful than the country’s military.

After another US-mediated ceasefire ended the previous conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024, Israel was meant to withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah was supposed to disarm. Neither happened.

“A ceasefire cannot be one-sided; it must be observed by both parties,” Mr Kassem said. “We will not accept a repetition of 15 months of patience in the face of Israeli aggression while waiting for diplomacy that achieved nothing.”

Mr Kassem said that peace will depend on the return of the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who have been uprooted by the conflict. But Israel’s continued presence could prolong their displacement.

Roughly 2,300 Lebanese people have been killed in the latest war, according to Lebanese authorities. At least 13 Israeli soldiers have also been killed, along with two civilians, according to the Israeli authorities. NYTIMES