In the style of October 6th? The quiet understanding with Hezbollah in Lebanon
Lebanese media reported on an understanding reached within the framework of contacts between Washington and Beirut, which led to a rapid end to the exchange of fire between the IDF and the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
High-level contacts between Beirut and Washington were intended to prevent a renewed deterioration between Israel and Hezbollah, and ended with an understanding that Israel would suffice with the latest wave of strikes in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah would not respond to the elimination of two senior members of the organization. This was stated by a diplomatic source to the Lebanese newspaper "Nidaa al-Watan", which is identified with the line opposing Hezbollah.
According to the source, the confrontation between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran has entered a new phase of "complex and encrypted security messages." He claims that security incidents in which Israeli forces are harmed in southern Lebanon may be interpreted as actions by Hezbollah even when the organization refrains from taking responsibility for them. On the other hand, any Israeli attack or elimination is perceived by the organization as a direct message to it. The source noted that the Israeli airstrikes that led to the elimination of two senior Hezbollah members were a "sharp message" to the organization.
According to the report, the strikes came after a security operation carried out about a week earlier, regarding which Hezbollah still maintains ambiguity.
"Following the escalation, intensive contacts took place between Lebanon and the United States. At their conclusion, a formula was formulated according to which Israel would suffice with what it had already done, and in return, Hezbollah would not respond to the elimination of its two men," the source stated.
The two senior officials whose elimination Israel announced are Ali Samir al-Hajj Hassan, a battalion commander in the Radwan Force, and Abu Hassan Alaa (identified by Lebanese sources as Ali Muhammad Fakhr al-Din), a senior official in Hezbollah's Badr unit. The IDF stated that the two were involved in planning and executing operations against its forces in southern Lebanon.
The diplomatic source estimated that the phrasing used by Hezbollah in its latest statement was intended to preserve the "right to respond" without being dragged into an open confrontation. He also warned that the most dangerous scenario is an outbreak near the elections in Israel, when military and political considerations could combine and turn any action on the ground into a turning point that would change the rules of the confrontation.
Alongside this, American sources who spoke with the newspaper said that Washington continues to adhere to the framework of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon. According to them, the goal is a phased process in which Israel will withdraw from southern Lebanon, and in parallel, Hezbollah's military infrastructure will be dismantled in a way that can be verified. The sources emphasized that the United States views Hezbollah as the main obstacle to a permanent security arrangement.
