BEIRUT: As hostilities across the Lebanese-Israeli border remained high on Tuesday, the deputy leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement was quoted as saying that the movement is prepared to fight any war that is imposed upon it rather than looking to intensify its battle with Israel.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging gunfire in the past eight months in parallel with the Gaza war, which has sparked fears that the highly armed rivals may engage in an even larger fight.
Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes on both sides of the border as a result of the deadliest hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah since their war in 2006.
Hezbollah deputy commander Sheikh Naim Qassem told Al Jazeera that the organization’s choice was not to “widen the war,” but rather that it would wage one if it were forced to.
According to an Israeli official, the key agenda item for Israel’s war council meeting later on Tuesday was the northern front.
Speaking on behalf of the Israeli government, David Mencer stated that the fighting in the region was “not a sustainable reality” and that Israel was dedicated to seeing that the tens of thousands of Israelis who had been evacuated from the north were returned home.
“Hezbollah must determine whether to use force or diplomacy to achieve this,” he declared. “No one should be surprised by our response; we are defending our country.”
Amos Hochstein, a top advisor to US President Joe Biden who leads diplomatic initiatives aimed at de-escalation, stated last week that a phased implementation of a land border accord between Israel and Lebanon might defuse tensions.
Israel has fought multiple wars in Lebanon.
