BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Friday vowed to cooperate with the Lebanese army and help build the country’s defense capacities amid efforts to implement the terms of a ceasefire with Israel.

Qassem was speaking for the first time since the start of the ceasefire on Wednesday that envisions both Hezbollah and the Israeli military withdrawing from south Lebanon and the Lebanese military deploying there alongside UN peacekeepers.

“We will work to... strengthen Lebanon’s defensive capacities,” said Qassem, who succeeded Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah after he was killed in a massive Israeli air strike on south Beirut in September.

“The resistance will be ready to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of Lebanon’s weakness along with our partners... first and foremost the army,” he added in a televised speech.

“The coordination between the resistance and the Lebanese army will be at a high level to implement the commitments of the agreement,” Qassem continued, adding that “no one is betting on problems or disagreements” with the army.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said Friday it had struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon after detecting militant activity in the area two days after the start of a ceasefire.

“A short while ago, terrorist activity and movement of a Hezbollah portable rocket launcher were identified in southern Lebanon. The threat was thwarted in an (Israeli Air Force) strike,” the army said in a statement that featured a video of the air strike on a slowly moving truck.

The truce, which started on Wednesday, ended a conflict that began the day after Hamas’s unprecedented 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, killing thousands in Lebanon and sparking mass displacements in both Lebanon and Israel.

Gaza truce

Hamas representatives will go to Cairo on Saturday for talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza, an official in the Palestinian militant group told Agence France-Presse on Friday.

“A Hamas delegation will go to Cairo tomorrow for several meetings with Egyptian officials to discuss ideas for a ceasefire and a prisoner accord in the Gaza Strip,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. The announcement came two days after a ceasefire went into effect between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.

The United States has also announced a new diplomatic effort with Qatar, Turkey and Egypt to reach a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ attacks on Israel that set off the current fighting.