Hezbollah “fully ready” to carry out action when time comes, deputy chief says

Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said in Beirut, Lebanon, on Friday that the group would not be swayed by calls for it to stay on the sidelines of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, saying the party was "fully ready" to contribute to the fighting. "The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly telling us not to interfere will have no effect," he told supporters gathered in the southern Beirut suburb. "We as Hezbollah contribute to the confrontation and will contribute to it within our vision and our plan. We follow the moves of the enemy, and we are fully ready. When the time comes for any action, we will carry it out," Qassem added. The group has already clashed with Israel across the Lebanese border multiple times in the past week, following the assault by Hamas against Israeli towns and Israel's retaliatory bombardment of the Gaza Strip. But sources say Hezbollah has designed its moves so far to be limited in scope, preventing a big spillover into Lebanon while keeping Israeli forces occupied. Qassem is the most senior Hezbollah official to speak publicly about the violence, while Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has not yet commented on developments.