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.
World leaders return to the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday...
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As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The 81st UN General Assembly continues in New York on Wednesday, with another day of high-level speeches and diplomatic meetings. The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, global security and international cooperation remain at the centre of discussions.
The 81st UN General Assembly has wrapped up its third day in New York on Thursday, with world leaders delivering high-level speeches and holding diplomatic meetings.
Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan will hold an urgent high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis. The meeting comes as Tehran seeks to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies.
World leaders return to the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday for the fourth day of the high-level General Debate, with speeches and diplomatic meetings continuing throughout the day.
Finland and Sweden deployed fighter aircraft on Thursday after a group of Russian military planes was detected over the Gulf of Finland, the Finnish Air Force reported on Friday (25 September).
The Middle East arrived at the United Nations this week with the consequences of a war that is no longer contained to one front. From Israel and Iran to Syria and Yemen, leaders have used the General Assembly to set out competing positions on the situation in the region.
Here’s your AnewZ Daily Brief for 25 September 2026, with five key developments from the third day of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Xi Jinping touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday evening to a welcome that was fairly unprecedented. President Donald Trump was there on the tarmac to greet him personally, which is something no sitting U.S. president had done for a visiting foreign leader in six decades.
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