The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Thursday rejected the cease-fire proposal agreed upon by Israel and Lebanon after U.S.-led negotiations.

“We are concerned only with a comprehensive cessation of aggression, a cease-fire, and the withdrawal of Israel,” said Naim Qassem , leader of the Iran-backed Shi‘ite Muslim group that was not party to the talks.

The cease-fire was contingent on Hezbollah halting all fire and withdrawing its fighters from parts of southern Lebanon, but Qassem in a written statement read on TV rejected the proposed action as fulfilling “the enemy’s objectives.”

The cease-fire statement made no explicit reference to any Israeli withdrawal from the south.

Dismissing the negotiations as a “farce,” Qassem argued that “as long as the occupation exists, the resistance will continue.”

Hezbollah’s staunch rejection of the agreement comes amid reports of continued strikes being traded by the militant group and Israeli forces Thursday morning, just hours after the cease-fire was…