'Not interested in a broad war': Former Hezbollah official says response may be limited

A former senior Hezbollah official told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa on Saturday that he expects a measured response from the organization following the assassination of senior official Fuad Shukr Abu Mohsen, as "the organization is not interested in a broad war."

According to the report, Hezbollah did not place much hope in the talks held by the American envoy Amos Hochstein and French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, as they claimed that Israel did not commit to reducing tensions and even continued actions against the organization's senior members.

The former official estimated that in his upcoming speech, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah will "console the people" and that the speech is expected to come after the organization's response to Shukr's assassination.

He added that "no one has accurate information about the nature of the response, and the decision comes directly from the top leadership."

A turning point

A parliamentary source in Lebanon told the newspaper that "the situation has reached a turning point after all the waiting and diplomatic efforts" and that "a correct decision must be made at the end of the grace period."

They noted that Hochstein's visit was to ensure that Lebanon would not be left out of the negotiations and that "the decision should be to remove the threat that everyone fears."

The parliamentary source added that Hochstein also met with representatives of the opposition in Lebanon, likely to convey the message that "no side can be absent from consultations at these critical moments."