Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said Friday it would be "fully prepared" to join its Palestinian ally Hamas in the war against Israel when the time is right.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem spoke as Hamas and Israel traded heavy fire for a seventh day, after hundreds of Hamas gunmen stormed across the border from Gaza into Israel on Saturday and killed more than 1,300 people, most of them civilians.
Israel has retaliated by bombarding Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 1,900 people, also mostly civilians and including more than 600 children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
"We, as Hezbollah, are contributing to the confrontation and will (continue) to contribute to it within our vision and plan," Qassem told a pro-Palestinian rally in Beirut's southern suburbs.
"We are fully prepared, and when the time comes for action, we will take it," he said.
The official, whose remarks coincided with a visit to Beirut by Iran's foreign minister, rebuffed calls for Hezbollah to stay out of the war.
Outreach by "major countries, Arab countries, and envoys from the United Nations, directly and indirectly, asking us not to interfere in the battle, will not affect us", he said, adding: "Hezbollah knows its duties."
Israel has traded fire with Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions in Lebanon in recent days.