Tensions eased on the Lebanese border with Israel in anticipation of the retaliation by Hezbollah to Israel’s assassination of its top commander Fouad Shukr earlier this week.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations expected Hezbollah to strike deep into Israeli territory.
In the meantime, the Lebanese people and authorities are on edge to see whether the party’s response will lead to an Israeli retaliation that would drag the whole region to war.
Retired brigadier general Bassam Yassine ruled out that Hezbollah and its allies in the Iran-backed Resistance Axis are still mulling a specific target, explaining that such targets are prepared in advance.
The party is simply waiting for the right political moment to make its strike, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He expected other members of the axis besides Hezbollah to take part in the retaliation to ensure that the largest number of rockets and drones reach their Israeli targets.
The region slipping into a broad war all hinges on Israel’s response to the attack, he stressed.
On the ground, Israel maintained its assault against the South, killing one person and wounding two in a drone strike on a car in the region between Wadi Jilo and al-Bazouriyeh.
Hezbollah later announced the death of one its members without specifying where he was killed.
Israel later carried out an air strike against the town of Tayr Harfa. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said one person was wounded in the attack.
