Hezbollah MP says Israel talks 'will in no way enjoy Lebanese consensus'

Lawmaker Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, called on Friday for Lebanon to "withdraw" from direct talks with Israel that U.S. President Donald Trump says have a "very good chance" of achieving peace.

"The authorities ought to feel ashamed before their people and withdraw from what has been called direct negotiations with the Zionist enemy," he said in a statement, adding that "any official contact or meeting bringing together the Lebanese and Israeli sides amid the ongoing war... will in no way enjoy Lebanese national consensus".

"Any so-called truce that grants the occupying enemy in Lebanon a special exemption to open fire... is not a truce at all, but rather a devious deception and an attempt to dupe others, one that entails covering up Israeli hostility and turning a blind eye to the enemy's continued violations."

Ali Fayad, an MP for the party, said Friday that Hezbollah reserves the right to respond to any Israeli "aggressions" during the ongoing truce in Lebanon.

He said extending the ceasefire "makes no sense" in light of continued "hostile acts" by Israel, saying they gave "the resistance the right to respond at the appropriate time".

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the ceasefire in Lebanon, due to expire on Sunday, would be extended by three weeks.