Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged messages in which they stressed that they were not seeking an escalation, political sources in Tel Aviv said on Thursday.
The report came after a series of events, including threats by the Israeli army about targeting the airports of Beirut and Damascus, raids carried out by Israel on Syrian territory, and the assassination of a senior Hezbollah official.
The sources noted that while tension was stoked by Israel and Hezbollah, both were setting limits to their hostility over fears of possible war. Even Iran, troubled by Israeli strikes, has not yet decided on a military confrontation between its militias and Israel.
Israeli daily Maariv quoted a senior official in Tel Aviv as saying that although the Israeli army was attacking Hezbollah positions, it refrained from harming party officers and focused its operations against designated terrorist bases.
The escalation began with the bombing of a site near Daraa, at dawn on Wednesday, which turned out to be a Syrian military intelligence base controlled by Iranian militias. Israel said that it allowed the Syrian army to control the site upon an understanding with the Russians, provided that no Iranians remained at the base. So Hezbollah members began infiltrating it through its Syrian affiliates in the Golan Heights.
Leading those members was Mash’hour Zidan, who was assassinated on Wednesday, when a guided missile targeted his vehicle. Israel has been blamed for the assassination.
While Tel Aviv did not claim responsibility for the two operations, military sources leaked to the Israeli media said that the assassination was a direct Israeli interest. They noted that Zidan was the successor of Samir Qantar, and was in charge of preparing for the next war in the Golan between Hezbollah and Israel.
“Hezbollah is working with the support and funding of Iran and the Syrian regime, along the border between Israel and Syria, and between Israel and Lebanon,” the sources also said.
Meanwhile, Israeli army’s spokesman in Arabic, Avichai Adrai, hinted that Damascus airport and Beirut’s airports and ports were possible targets for bombardment, claiming that they were “crossings used by Iran to transfer its weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah.”
In a tweet, he urged the Lebanese authorities to deal with the situation, addressing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and Minister of Works and Transport Youssef Fenianos, saying: “Till when will you keep your eyes closed?”
