ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said Friday that Israel must "withdraw completely" from Lebanese territory without conditions, rejecting any agreement that would tie an Israeli withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament, as US-mediated talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv continue.

“Israel has no option but to withdraw completely from every inch of our Lebanese land and to stop the aggression by air, land, sea, and in all forms,” the Hezbollah leader said in a speech during an Ashura procession in Beirut.

His remarks come amid an ongoing truce and US-brokered negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv, despite continued hostilities that have resulted in casualties.

Following months of fighting with Hezbollah, Israel established the so-called "yellow line," extending roughly four to ten kilometres inside Lebanese territory from the Mediterranean coast to the Syrian border.

“Israel must leave without any conditions or restrictions, and any commitment against the sovereignty of Lebanon will not pass, and no one has the right to sign anything or accept anything,” Qassem said.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said Thursday that Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon “as long as Hezbollah remains a threat, are not disarmed, and are not demilitarized,” despite a recent US-Iran agreement calling for an end to hostilities across all fronts, including Lebanon.

The Lebanese government is implementing a phased, US-backed plan to disarm Hezbollah and place all weapons under state control. While the Lebanese Armed Forces have made progress in areas south of the Litani River, Hezbollah and its main backer, Iran, have strongly opposed the disarmament process.

Qassem said that “All solutions are limited to full sovereignty for Lebanon and full independence for Lebanon, no normalization, no cancellation of the state of hostility, no gains for Israel.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon are nearing a "commitment of intent" as a fifth round of talks concluded. He said that “for the first time in 30 years, the sovereign government of Lebanon is speaking to the government of Israel directly."

The talks began in April, following the March 2 escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The conflict triggered a wave of Israeli strikes that, according to Lebanese authorities, have killed more than 4,100 people and displaced around one million. The fifth round of negotiations concluded on Thursday.

Despite the truce remaining formally in place, Lebanese state media reported Thursday that an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed three people and wounded another, marking the third deadly incident since the latest round of negotiations began. The death toll from Israeli strikes this week has risen to seven.