Lebanese outgoing Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in Moscow, Nov. 22, 2021. (Credit: Evgenia Novozhenina/AFP).
Lebanon's outgoing Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib stated on Sunday evening that an Israeli army invasion of the Gaza Strip would not automatically trigger a response from Hezbollah. His remarks come as exchanges of fire are increasing between Hezbollah and the Israeli Army along Lebanon's southern border, resulting in multiple casualties.
"Hezbollah will not automatically react to a Gaza invasion unless it is significant or if there is a major attack on Lebanon," Bou Habib told local Lebanese channel MTV. According to him, "Hezbollah and Iran have indicated that they were not informed in advance of the 'Al-Aqsa flood,' and [US Secretary of State] Anthony Blinken himself admitted it yesterday."
Israel's invasion of Gaza raises concerns that Lebanon and other countries may be drawn into a regional war. On Sunday, Lebanon's outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated that his government was working to end Israeli attacks and prevent the war from spreading to Lebanon.
According to Bou Habib, "Hezbollah will emerge stronger from any potential war, as was the case in 2006."
"Our friends in the West must pressure Israel to establish a ceasefire and prevent it from launching a war against Hezbollah," he added.
"The provocation comes from Israeli officials, not Hezbollah. The fact that the party's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has not made any statements so far means he is against escalation," he continued.
He added that he is in "continuous dialogue" with the party.
The Foreign Minister said that he did not know why Lebanese authorities were not invited to the Cairo summit on Saturday. The conference, which was organized by Egypt in an attempt to reach an agreement on ending the fighting in Gaza and Israel, brought together around thirty representatives, mainly from European and Arab countries. However, the summit yielded no resolution to reduce the violence of the conflict.