BEIRUT (Dispatches) -- The head of Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit, Wafiq Safa, confirmed in a press conference Sunay that the Lebanese resistance has restored its capabilities and is capable of confronting Israeli attacks. 
The conference marked Safa’s first public appearance since being targeted in an Israeli assassination attempt that martyred 22 civilians and injured over 100 more. The attack took place in the southern suburb of Beirut, near the site where late Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated.
“Hezbollah’s capabilities have been restored, and it has the ability to confront any attack in the manner it deems appropriate,” Safa told reporters. 
“Hezbollah has not and will not be defeated. It was created with victory imprinted on its forehead, and its determination is stronger than iron.”
Responding to a question on what happens if Israel fails to withdraw after the 60-day ceasefire implementation period – which is due to finish at the end of this month – the Hezbollah official said, “the Lebanese army and the monitoring committee were not informed of this matter,” as had been reported. 
“But after the 60 days have passed, the matter is up to Hezbollah and the resistance to decide what they will do. As Sheikh Naim Qassem said, this is the responsibility of the state that signed the agreement, and it is the one that will follow up on the ceasefire procedures or violations,” he added. 
He confirmed what Hezbollah chief Sheikh Qassem said in a speech one day earlier that Hezbollah’s patience may run out
 before the end of the 60 days, because Israel’s ceasefire violations are becoming “unbearable.” 
Commenting on the issue of the Lebanese presidency, Safa confirmed that Hezbollah has no issue with the candidacy of U.S.-backed Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander Joseph Aoun. 
“Our only veto is on [Lebanese Forces leader] Samir Geagea because he represents a project of sedition, civil strife, and destruction in the country,” he added. 
Lebanese political forces have been deadlocked on the election of a new president for three years. 
A parliamentary session to elect a president is scheduled for next week. 
The press conference coincided with continued Israeli army advancements and ceasefire violations in southern Lebanon. 
Israeli troops pushed into Taybeh and “carried out extensive combing operations with heavy and medium machine guns,” Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported, adding that explosions were heard inside the town’s neighborhoods. 
They also continued demolition operations in Aitaroun and nearby areas, while blocking the road leading from Qantara to Taybeh. 
The ceasefire agreement announced on November 27, based on UN Resolution 1701, stipulates that the Lebanese army must dismantle Hezbollah’s presence and infrastructure south of the Litani River in a period of 60 days, during which Israel is also required to withdraw its forces from south Lebanon.
The agreement is being overseen by a U.S.-led tripartite mechanism involving France and the UNIFIL. It has been violated over 1,000 times by Israel. 
Several recent reports have said that Israel is gearing up to maintain its presence in the south past the 60-day period. Tel Aviv is unsatisfied with the Lebanese army’s efforts to implement the deal, and says Hezbollah has not left the areas south of the Litani. 
According to Al Akhbar newspaper, the Lebanese army has received “serious signals” from the U.S. that Israel could potentially extend its presence in south Lebanon by 30 days. 
Zionist war minister Israel Katz claimed on Sunday that Hezbollah was violating the ceasefire and had not withdrawn to behind the Litani River, adding that “if this condition is not met, there will be no agreement, and Israel will be forced to act on its own to ensure the safe return of residents of the north to their homes.”