Lebanon is gearing up for a potential Hezbollah response to an Israeli drone attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, near the party’s media office, last Sunday.
There have been reports that Hezbollah would not hesitate to respond to Israel’s aggression, particularly after Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah warned that his party will not allow such an attack to take place in Lebanon.
The party is now choosing the right timing, by assessing the reaction of Tel Aviv in light of the preparations of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to run in next month’s elections, and his hopes to retain the premiership.
No party in Lebanon can predict the nature of the military action that Hezbollah plans to launch, but according to local sources, the party’s response would be “limited and well-studied” to avoid an all-out war with Israel.
A well-informed ministerial source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday that a limited Hezbollah response would lead to an Israeli aggression similar to the 2006 war, and would pave the way for international intervention to restore calm and respect the rules of engagement under Security Council Resolution 1701.
The source praised the diplomatic efforts initiated by Prime Minister Saad Hariri following the attack.
“Hariri’s efforts are unconditionally backed by President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri,” he said, adding that the PM is working on two goals – guaranteeing international protection for Lebanon and preventing an Israeli attack by forcing Tel Aviv not to respond to a possible Hezbollah retaliation.
Hariri is also keen on avoiding differences among Lebanese political parties.
Amid Hariri’s moves, the deputy leader of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, warned that his party would deliver a “surprise” response in the coming days to a series of Israeli raids.
However, the Hezbollah No 2 ruled out that the atmosphere is one of war. “It is one of a response to an attack,” he said. “Everything will be decided at its time.”
Hezbollah on Tuesday said the attack in Beirut's southern suburbs involved two drones -- one which exploded and the other that crashed without exploding because of a technical failure.
The attack came after Israel on Saturday launched strikes in Syria to prevent what it said was an Iranian attack on Israel.
Nasrallah on Sunday said two Hezbollah members were among those killed in the strikes.
