Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has said the group “will not allow anyone to disarm” it and that no dialogue over a broader defence strategy in Lebanon will take place until Israel withdraws from Lebanese territory.
“Our weapons are the backbone of the resistance, they are the ones that liberated our country,” Mr Qassem said in a televised speech on Friday night. “We must cut this idea of disarmament from the dictionary.”
Mr Qassem said those who publicly called for the disarmament of Hezbollah were seeking to “create strife” between the group and the Lebanese Army and he said they would not succeed.
Lebanon is under pressure from countries such as the US to fully disarm Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group and political party that was weakened by its war with Israel last year.
But disarming the group, which still wields considerable firepower and support from its Shiite follower base, is a deeply sensitive issue in Lebanon – and once an unthinkable conversation.
“Lebanon cannot submit to American commands,” Mr Qassem said.
President Joseph Aoun has said he wants to bring all weapons under state control by the end of the year, but has insisted this must only be done through dialogue. The former army commander has also said Hezbollah fighters could be allowed to join the Lebanese military.
Despite a ceasefire deal being agreed last November between Hezbollah and Israel, the latter has continued to regularly bombard Lebanon and retains five positions within Lebanese territory.
Under the truce, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of Lebanon's Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
The Lebanese Army has gradually increased its presence in the south under the terms of the deal.
Mr Qassem said Hezbollah and Lebanon had abided by the agreement, but Israel had broken it more than 2,700 times. Hezbollah insists the ceasefire terms do not apply to the rest of Lebanon.
“The ceasefire agreement clearly mentions that the scope of the agreement is strictly in the south of the Litani area,” Mr Qassem said.
He became the secretary general of Hezbollah last year after his long-time predecessor Hassan Nasrallah was killed by Israel in bombing of Beirut. In 2024, Israel also wiped out almost all of Hezbollah's senior leadership, but killed more than 4,000 people – while its attacked displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon.
The financial cost to Lebanon is many billions of dollars, and vast parts of the country have been levelled. Who will rebuild Lebanon remains unclear, as it was already grappling with a major economic crisis and with international donors holding back. Some, such as the US, have hinted that any future aid is conditional on a further weakening of Hezbollah.
Mr Qassem said “the Lebanese state must begin to commit to its duty of reconstruction” and warned against “tying the beginning of reconstruction to disarming”.
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
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RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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