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"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.
"Hezbollah knows its duties perfectly well. We are prepared and
ready, fully ready, and be are following developments moment by
moment," Qassem said.
The group has already clashed with Israel across the Lebanese
border multiple times in the past week, following the assault by
Palestinian faction 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. Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has
not yet commented on developments.
"The question being asked, which everyone is waiting for, is:
what Hezbollah will do and what will its contribution be?"
Qassem said. "We will contribute to the confrontation within our
plan... when the time comes for any action, we will carry it
out."
(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alex
Richardson and Christina Fincher)
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