Hezbollah confirmed that the Israeli escalation and targeting of civilians reflects the desire of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to escalate the war, thus strengthening his internal political reality. He pointed out that "the Israeli government and the United States, which provide it with support and cover, bear the responsibility of continuing the aggression and violating Lebanon's sovereignty." The party stressed the need for the Lebanese authority to explore available means to stop the aggression, and not to insist on continuing the path of direct negotiations, which it described as “humiliating,” and to provide “free gifts to the enemy,” despite the “crimes and attacks it commits.” He continued: "It is time for the authority to comprehensively review its accounts in a way that preserves Lebanon's sovereignty and rights, instead of continuing with policies that confirm its inability to protect Lebanon and its people." The party denounced the recent statement of the American ambassador to Lebanon, in which he called for the handing over of the resistance’s weapons, considering that what was required of it was to pressure Israel to withdraw from the areas it occupies. It said that this confirms that what the United States is looking for is “Israel’s interest and security at the expense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and its people.”