A Hezbollah flag flutters above the rubble of a building that was hit in January by an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese village of Qannarit. AFP
Mohammed Raad, head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, described the move as “swaggering” and said it contradicted national interests.
“The Lebanese were expecting a decision rejecting the [Israeli] aggression,” he said, framing the ban as a challenge to the party’s role in defending the country.
The ban follows a recent exchange of fire with Israel. Hezbollah launched rockets into Israeli territory in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Israel responded with airstrikes on southern Beirut suburbs, killing 52 people, wounding 154, and displacing 29,000, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned both the attacks launched from Lebanon and Israel’s counterstrikes. He warned that “persisting in using Lebanon once again as a platform for wars we have no part in will expose the country to new risks.”
Hezbollah is represented in both the government and parliament.
Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for restraint as clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, his spokesman said.
"We're seriously concerned about the exchange of fire across the Blue Line. The situation on the ground is evolving rapidly, and we're monitoring developments closely," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
"We urge utmost restraint and call on the parties to uphold the cessation of hostilities agreement."
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