An Israeli official stated to Al-Arabiya between 3:15 PM and 3:45 PM UTC on November 5th that Israel does not seek war in Lebanon but will not hesitate if necessary, adding that Hezbollah is repositioning in the south, threatening a new conflict. The official also noted a slowdown in weapon collection in southern Lebanon and welcomed unconditional negotiations with Lebanon. These statements come as Israeli researcher Elizabeth Zurkov detailed her release from captivity by the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, who allegedly demanded a $600 million ransom before releasing her for free due to threats from President Trump. Zurkov, speaking in a follow-up thread to a New York Times article, claimed the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades and their Iranian leadership believed extracted confessions under torture meant she had high value to Israel, despite her being an opponent of the government. She stated her family had access to a Russian-Jewish billionaire willing to pay $10 million, but the group received nothing and released her for free out of fear of President Trump's threat to eliminate the Brigades within a week. She asserted her release was facilitated through a special envoy to Iraq and was not in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. In related developments from earlier in the day, Lebanese media reported an Israeli drone strike targeting Hussein Deeb near Burj Rahal in southern Lebanon, though reports indicated the target was missed. This incident occurred amid broader regional diplomatic efforts, with the United States reportedly rejecting a Lebanese negotiation proposal and offering its own through envoy Tom Brack. Earlier on November 4th-5th, Houthi forces raided headquarters of five international and relief organizations in Sana'a, detaining 59 UN staffers and accusing them of spying. Separately, Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei ordered the IRGC Aerospace Force to maximize ballistic missile production to deter potential Israeli attacks.
