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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.