BEIRUT (Reuters) – The deputy head of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement on Sunday rejected the possibility of an escalation of violence between the Iran-backed movement and Israel despite mounting tensions in the past week.
FILE PHOTO: A man rides a motorcycle alongside a photo of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, near Sidon, Lebanon, on July 7, 2020. REUTERS / Ali Hashisho / File Photo
“The atmosphere does not indicate war … It is unlikely, the atmosphere of war in the coming months,” Sheikh Naim Qassem said in an interview with the pro-Damascus television station al Mayadeen.
Tensions increased along Israel’s border with Syria and Lebanon after Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia said a fighter died in an apparent Israeli attack on the edge of Damascus last week.
After two Hezbollah members were killed in Damascus in August 2019, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah promised that the group would respond if Israel killed more fighters inside Syria.
Since then, the Israeli army has increased its forces on its northern front.
An Israeli drone crashed into Lebanon during operational activity along the border, an Israeli military spokeswoman said Sunday.
Israel has intensified attacks on Syria in recent months in what western intelligence sources say is a shadow war approved by Washington that has undermined Iran’s military power in the region without causing a major increase in hostilities.
Hezbollah has deployed fighters to Syria as part of the Iran-backed efforts to support President Bashar al-Assad in a conflict that stemmed from protests against his government in 2011.
Bases in eastern, central and southern Syria that Israel has hit in recent months are believed to have a strong presence of Iranian-backed militias, according to intelligence sources and military defectors familiar with the locations.
Analysts say Hezbollah and Israel want to avoid a total conflict at a time of regional tensions and keep rules of engagement in place since the Iran-backed movement waged a month-long war with Israel in 2006.
“There are no changes to the rules of engagement and the deterrent equation with Israel exists and we are not planning to change it,” Qassem said.
Written by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Daniel Wallis
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