The head of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, pledged on Friday to coordinate closely with the Lebanese army to implement a ceasefire deal with Israel, which he said his group had agreed to "with heads held high".
It was his first address since a ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday after more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel that decimated swathes of Lebanon and killed 4,000 people including hundreds of women and children.
Qassem said Hezbollah had "approved the deal, with the resistance strong in the battlefield, and our heads held high with our right to defend (ourselves)."
The ceasefire stipulates that Hezbollah will withdraw from areas south of the Litani river, which runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the border with Israel, and that the Lebanese army will deploy troops there as Israeli ground troops withdraw.
"There will be high-level coordination between the Resistance (Hezbollah) and the Lebanese army to implement the commitments of the deal," Qassem said.
The Lebanese army has already sent additional troops to the south but is preparing a detailed deployment plan to share with Lebanon's cabinet, security sources and officials have said.
That effort has been complicated by the continuing presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory. The deal grants them a full 60 days to complete their withdrawal.
The Israeli military has issued restrictions on people returning to villages along Lebanon's border with Israel and has fired at people in those villages in recent days, calling those movements a violation of the truce.
Both the Lebanese army and Hezbollah have accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire in those instances, and by launching an airstrike above the Litani River on Thursday.
Qassem said the group had scored a "divine victory" against Israel even greater than that declared after the two foes last fought in 2006.
"To those that were betting that Hezbollah would be weakened, we are sorry, their bets have failed," he said.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Monday formally ending U.S. sanctions on Syria, in a major foreign policy reversal th...
Türkiye will host the 2026 NATO leaders summit in Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday, saying the country is preparing the gro...
Two Azerbaijani brothers killed in a Russian security raid in Yekaterinburg are being returned home, sparking outrage and urgent calls for justice ami...
After a brief stint at Aston Villa, Marcus Rashford is heading back to Manchester United as the club opts against triggering his £40 million buy clau...
Over the past year, 162 asteroids flew closer to Earth than the Moon. NASA and ESA warn only 40% of dangerous objects have been identified, with one a...
A Hezbollah official says the group will not act independently in response to Israeli strikes on Iran, expressing solidarity with Tehran but stopping short of direct retaliation.
The Lebanese government has firmly warned Hezbollah against participating in Iran’s retaliation against Israel, signaling a sharp rebuke of any unilateral military action by the group.
The U.S. has pressured Lebanon to act against Hezbollah, urging the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to enforce a ceasefire. The LAF, caught between U.S. demands and Hezbollah’s influence, risks losing vital U.S. support if it fails to act.
The U.S. economy faces a 40% risk of recession in the second half of 2025, JP Morgan analysts said on Wednesday, citing rising tariffs and stagflation concerns.
China has ramped up efforts to protect communities impacted by flood control measures, introducing stronger compensation policies and direct aid from the central government.
Severe rain in Venezuela has caused rivers to overflow and triggered landslides, sweeping away homes and collapsing a highway bridge, with five states affected and no casualties reported so far.
A malfunction in the radar transmission system at the Area Control Center in Milan suspended more than 300 flights at the weekend, across northwest Italy since Saturday evening according to Italy's air traffic controller Enav (National Agency for Flight Assistance).
Thousands of protesters rallied in Bangkok on Saturday, demanding Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign as political and economic tensions mount.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday approved the disbursement of an additional $500 million to Ukraine, following the completion of its eighth review under the country’s $15.5 billion Extended Fund Facility.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday publicly criticized AT&T for technical issues that disrupted a national conference call with faith leaders, urging the company’s leadership to address the situation and suggesting his administration may turn to a different carrier in future communications.
France, Spain, Kenya, and several other nations announced on Monday a joint pledge to tax premium-class airline passengers and private jet users, in a move aimed at raising billions of dollars for climate action and sustainable development.
An oil tanker carrying one million barrels of crude oil exploded near the Libyan coast, Bloomberg reported on 30 June.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Monday formally ending U.S. sanctions on Syria, in a major foreign policy reversal that follows a series of diplomatic overtures between Washington and Damascus.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment