Israel - Hamas deal: 'There is a sense that this truce could be extended to southern Lebanon' - video Dailymotion

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00:00 Well, let's go from the West Bank to Lebanon now on the programme to get a sense of what

00:05 impact the truce may have there.

00:08 Rawad Taha is our correspondent in Beirut.

00:10 He joins me live now.

00:12 Rawad, there have been regular skirmishes on the Israeli-Lebanese border since October

00:18 7th.

00:19 Is there any sense now that they might stop during this truce?

00:23 Yes, in fact, there is a sense that during the truce, this truce could be extended to

00:31 southern Lebanon as well.

00:34 Sources close to Hezbollah have noted both to Lebanese media outlets and also regional

00:40 TV channels that Hezbollah has been supporting Hamas in Gaza since October 7th, and it's

00:47 not a front on its own, and that anything that happens in Gaza in the field in terms

00:53 of military operations and in terms of intensity is reflected on the border between southern

00:58 Lebanon and Israel.

01:00 And thus Hezbollah explicitly has hinted that they could be stopping military operations,

01:07 targeting Israeli military positions along the border with Lebanon.

01:11 However, one thing to keep in mind is that the same source has also confirmed that this

01:15 is subject to the fact that Israel does not launch any preemptive airstrikes or drone

01:22 strikes, as we've seen over the past few days, targeting Hezbollah bases or targeting civilians.

01:28 So Hezbollah is ready to stop firing at Israeli bases during the truce in Gaza.

01:36 The other side of the story is in Tel Aviv, of course.

01:39 One thing to keep in mind as well is the fact that the Israeli foreign minister has officially

01:44 sent out a letter to the UN Security Council asking for the implementation of the 1701

01:51 UN resolution, which in fact ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

01:58 That resolution in particular says that a big portion or a big chunk of southern Lebanon

02:04 is a demilitarized zone where no presence of weaponry besides the Lebanese army is there.

02:12 So if this is the case from the Israeli side, we really need to look at the developments.

02:17 But in fact, Hezbollah did mention that they're ready to stop the military operations over

02:21 the next few days.

02:23 And Rawad, also today, the Iranian foreign minister is visiting Lebanon.

02:28 What do you think the significance of that visit is at this particular time?

02:35 Of course, the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdel Rahian, landed in Beirut a few

02:40 hours ago.

02:41 He also met with the secretary general of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.

02:47 On the schedule as well are meetings with the Palestinian officials from the organizations

02:54 in Lebanon, in particular, most probably as usual, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad as well.

03:01 As he landed in the airport, Hossein Amir Abdel Rahian mentioned two things in particular.

03:06 The first, that he's here to meet Lebanese officials, so state officials, and he's working

03:14 on maintaining regional stability.

03:18 That was the first part of his message.

03:19 However, the second part of his message was that the resistance, according to his words,

03:25 meaning Hezbollah and the affiliated Iranian proxies, are still ready to fight if the aggression

03:34 continues in Gaza.

03:36 So we're looking at two messages sent out there, that we're here to stabilize the region,

03:41 but then if things could go back into the wrong turn in Gaza, this could also possibly

03:49 refuel the Lebanese arena as well.

03:51 All right.

03:52 Rawad Taha talking to us there live from Beirut, Lebanon.

Israel - Hamas deal: 'There is a sense that this truce could be extended to southern Lebanon'

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