Special report: Israel launches Gaza assault

    BEIRUT, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah's weapons are still present in southern Lebanon and along the border with Israel, but are "simply out of sight", The Daily Star reported on Tuesday.

    "Nothing changed after July 12 ... Hezbollah still has weapons in the southern villages and along the border, but they are hidden," Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, Hezbollah's commander in South Lebanon, was quoted as saying.

    He made the remarks during a ceremony held in the Bint Jbeil region of Aitaroun in honor of the fallen during the latest month-long Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

    Qaouk added that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) "is not entitled to disarm Hezbollah or to spy on the party."

    "Hezbollah clings to all the elements of power necessary to defy the Israeli enemy ... The resistance (Hezbollah's) arms are on top of those elements," the sheikh said.

    The Israel-Hezbollah conflict erupted after Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers on July 12, and stopped on August 14 thanks to UN Resolution 1701, which gave the authorization to UNIFIL to expand its 2,000 troops to up to 15,000 soldiers. Enditem