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Hezbollah Says 'Prepared' for Action Against Israel When Time Comes

Solidarity rally with Gaza in Beirut's southern suburb (AFP)
Solidarity rally with Gaza in Beirut's southern suburb (AFP)
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Hezbollah Says 'Prepared' for Action Against Israel When Time Comes

Solidarity rally with Gaza in Beirut's southern suburb (AFP)
Solidarity rally with Gaza in Beirut's southern suburb (AFP)

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it would be fully prepared to take action against Israel to support the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip when the time is right.

During a solidarity rally in Beirut, Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said: "We, as Hezbollah, are contributing to the confrontation and will (continue) to contribute to it within our vision and plan."

"We are fully prepared, and when the time comes for action, we will take it," he said, adding: "We will contribute to the confrontation within our plan... when the time comes for any action, we will carry it out."

Outreach by "major countries, Arab countries, and envoys from the United Nations, directly and indirectly, asking us not to interfere in the battle, will not affect us," he said, adding: "Hezbollah knows its duties."

On Friday, over a thousand participants joined Beirut's southern suburbs' rally to support Gaza, carrying Palestinian flags and solidarity banners.

Najwa Ali, a Palestinian refugee born in Beirut 57 years ago, participated in the solidarity rally.

"I have never seen Palestine, but when I go back one day, it will be with my head held high, without an Israeli soldier telling me where to go or what to do," she told AFP.

She indicated that the Israelis attacked and expelled her ancestors from Palestine in 1948, asserting that "blood will not stop flowing until we regain Palestine."

Fatima, 25, stresses that the Lebanese will not push towards war, but it will break out if Israel invades Gaza.

Hundreds gathered in various cities and villages across Lebanon and Palestinian refugee camps to support Gaza and protest the Israeli atrocities.

So far, Hezbollah has made limited moves in the war, but analysts believe it may be forced to open a new front if Israel launches a ground attack on Gaza.

Israel has been targeting Lebanese areas daily, and Hezbollah has targeted Israeli sites in a disputed border area since Sunday.

Despite the exchange of bombings that raised the tension at the border, Hezbollah's direct intervention remains limited.

A balance of deterrence has prevailed between the two sides since the 2006 war, which left more than 1,200 dead on the Lebanese side, mostly civilians, and 160 dead on the Israeli side, mainly from the military.

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Arab World

US Targets Hezbollah Money Movers

The US Treasury Department is seen in Washington, DC, on October 15, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
The US Treasury Department is seen in Washington, DC, on October 15, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
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US Targets Hezbollah Money Movers

The US Treasury Department is seen in Washington, DC, on October 15, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
The US Treasury Department is seen in Washington, DC, on October 15, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members involved in financial transactions for the Lebanese group.

The sanctions were announced ahead of a visit to Lebanon by John Hurley, the Treasury Department official in charge of sanctions against extremist groups.

The Treasury Department said it was imposing sanctions on three Hezbollah members, blocking any assets they have in the United States and making transactions with them subject to prosecution.

The three were involved in transfers of tens of millions of dollars from Iran in part by using money exchange companies that operate in cash, it said.

"Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous and secure -- but that can only happen if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran's funding and control," Hurley said in a statement.

Lebanon's government agreed to a plan to disarm Hezbollah. Despite a ceasefire in effect for a year, Israel on Thursday carried out new strikes in Lebanon, vowing to stop Hezbollah from rearming.

Arab World

Mediators Propose Deal to Get Hamas Fighters Out of Gaza's Israeli Zone

Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, in Gaza City’s Al Shujaiya district, November 5, 2025 (EPA)
Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, in Gaza City’s Al Shujaiya district, November 5, 2025 (EPA)
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Mediators Propose Deal to Get Hamas Fighters Out of Gaza's Israeli Zone

Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, in Gaza City’s Al Shujaiya district, November 5, 2025 (EPA)
Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, in Gaza City’s Al Shujaiya district, November 5, 2025 (EPA)

Hamas fighters holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza would surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other areas of the enclave under a proposal to resolve an issue seen as a risk to the month-old truce, according to two sources familiar with the talks.

Since the US-brokered ceasefire took effect in Gaza on October 10, the Rafah area has been the scene of at least two attacks on Israeli forces which Israel has blamed on Hamas; the militant group has denied responsibility.

Egyptian mediators have proposed that, in exchange for safe passage, fighters still in Rafah surrender their arms to Egypt and give details of tunnels there so they can be destroyed, one of the sources, an Egyptian security official, said, Reuters reported.

Israel and Hamas have yet to accept mediators' proposals, the two sources said. A third confirmed that talks on the issue were underway.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the accounts; Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, declined to comment.

The attacks in Rafah spiralled into some of the worst violence since the ceasefire took hold, with three Israeli soldiers killed, prompting Israeli retaliation that killed dozens of Palestinians.

Two of the sources said the Hamas fighters in Rafah, which the group's armed wing has said have been out of contact since March, might be unaware a ceasefire was in place. One of them added that getting the fighters out served the interest of safeguarding the truce.

The sources did not say how many Hamas fighters might be holed up in the Rafah area.

The ceasefire is the first part of President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war.

The militant group has released the last 20 living hostages seized in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners; Israeli troops have withdrawn from western areas of Gaza, where Hamas remains in control.

Details of the next phase of Trump's plan, which requires Hamas to disarm and surrender control of Gaza, have yet to be agreed. The plan foresees Gaza being governed by a technocratic Palestinian committee with international supervision, and the deployment of an international force.

Since the ceasefire, Hamas has also handed over the bodies of 22 of 28 deceased hostages. Hamas has said the devastation in Gaza has made locating the bodies difficult. Israel accuses Hamas of stalling.

Israel has released to Gaza the bodies of 285 Palestinians, according to the territory's health ministry.

Arab World

US Draft Resolution Outlines Powers of Proposed 'Peace Council' and International Force for Gaza

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz (The AP)
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz (The AP)
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US Draft Resolution Outlines Powers of Proposed 'Peace Council' and International Force for Gaza

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz (The AP)
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz (The AP)

The United States has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for a two-year mandate to establish a transitional administration in the Gaza Strip and create an international force responsible for security and disarmament.

According to the US mission to the UN, Ambassador Mike Waltz shared the text with the council’s 10 elected members as well as with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye.

The three-page draft, obtained by The National, “welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace", described as a transitional governing body with international legal standing that would co-ordinate funding and set the framework for the redevelopment of Gaza.

The proposed Board of Peace would operate until the Palestinian Authority completes a comprehensive reform program, as outlined in the US administration’s “Comprehensive Plan.”

A representative of the US mission said, “Under President [Donald] Trump’s bold leadership, the United States will again deliver results at the UN, not endless talk.”

The resolution grants members of the Board of Peace the authority to “enter into such arrangements as may be necessary” to meet the plan’s objectives, including the creation of “operational entities” to oversee Gaza’s transitional government. These entities would supervise and support a technocratic, non-partisan Palestinian committee responsible for day-to-day administration.

The text adds that a transitional governance administration, including oversight of a Palestinian technocratic, apolitical committee composed of qualified figures from Gaza, as called for by the Arab League, would assume responsibility for the civil service and administration in the Strip.

According to the US draft, these new structures would operate under the supervision of the Board of Peace and be funded through voluntary contributions from donor states.

The resolution calls on “the World Bank and other financial institutions to facilitate and provide financial resources to support the reconstruction and development of Gaza (...) including the establishment of a dedicated trust fund for this purpose and governed by donors.”

It also authorizes the creation of a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza empowered to “use all necessary measures to carry out its mandate consistent with international law, including international humanitarian law.”

The establishment of such a force was part of the agreement that produced the fragile October 10 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, ending two years of fighting sparked by the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Under that deal, troops from Arab and Muslim countries would be deployed in Gaza to oversee security as Israeli forces withdraw.

The draft notes that the proposed International Stabilization Force would coordinate with Israel and Egypt without affecting existing agreements between them and would operate alongside a newly trained and vetted Palestinian police service.

The force’s two-year mandate would cover the stabilization of Gaza’s security environment, ensuring demilitarization of the Strip, destruction and prevention of rebuilding of military and offensive infrastructure, and the permanent decommissioning of weapons held by non-state armed groups.

Observers noted that the draft resolution is likely to face political obstacles and differences, as several countries are awaiting a clear Security Council mandate before committing to send forces to Gaza.