This picture shows rockets being fired from Rafah in southern Gaza Strip toward Zionist state yesterday. - AFP photos

BEIRUT: Zionist forces' deadly Gaza offensive has many eyes trained on the Lebanese border for a Hezbollah reaction, but observers argue the Iran-backed movement is unlikely to risk an all-out conflict. Incidents at the border in recent days have raised the temperature but, with Lebanon already on its knees amid a deep political and economic crisis, the Shiite group seems intent on refraining from an escalation.

"There is nothing that currently suggests escalation," said Sadiq Al-Nabulsi, a Lebanese academic close to Hezbollah. "But the decision to go to war traditionally falls on Zionist entity." Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas, both designated as terrorist groups by the Zionist state and much of the West, have mended fences after ending up on opposing sides of the Syrian war a decade ago. Hezbollah, founded in the 1980s to fight Zionist occupation of southern Lebanon, has grown into Iran's main regional proxy with operatives in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

The only Lebanese faction to have kept its weapons after the 1975-90 civil war, Hezbollah now has a more powerful arsenal than the Lebanese national army. It justifies this by emphasizing its role of "resistance" against the Zionist enemy, a theme that still occupies a central place in the rhetoric of the movement.

GAZA CITY: Palestinians pray over the body of a man killed during Zionist airstrikes in Gaza City yesterday.

Six years after Zionist pulled out of Lebanon in 2000, the Lebanese militia and the Jewish state fought a devastating 34-day war. The 2006 conflict killed around 1,200 Lebanese and cost the country dearly by impacting infrastructure, investment and tourism. The two foes have since avoided all-out war, including during the previous wars in Gaza in 2008, 2012 and 2014.

Their simmering conflict has played out mostly in war-ravaged Syria, where occupation forces have carried out hundreds of strikes on Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian assets. Minor border spats sporadically bring tensions to a boil but often wind up with a set of carefully choreographed face-saving salvos. "Any minor incident can lead to an exchange that could snowball and any miscalculation could cause escalation," Nabulsi said.

Border tensions

On Wednesday, four rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Zionist state, in the third such attack since hostilities flared between the Jewish state and armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip last week. The Zionist army said it responded with artillery fire after its air defenses intercepted one of the rockets. The others likely fell in open areas, it said. On Monday evening, rockets were also fired from the Shebaa farms area in south Lebanon towards Zionist but failed to fly past the border. The occupation army responded with artillery fire.

Last Thursday, three rockets were fired from near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh toward Zionist state. The Zionist army said the rockets fell into the sea. Hezbollah has not officially commented on any of the attacks. Also in the border area, protests have been held against Zionist air campaign on Gaza, with a Hezbollah member killed by Zionist fire last week during a pro-Palestinian rally. Hezbollah mourned the victim as a "martyr" but stopped short of calling for vengeance or retaliation.

Before the latest tensions, Hezbollah and Zionist entity repeatedly signaled they were not interested in an escalation. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, in a speech to mark Al-Quds (Jerusalem) day this month, said it was a responsibility for his movement to stand behind Palestinians. "But the primary responsibility is on Palestinians" themselves, he said, before warning the Zionists that his group would respond firmly if provoked in Lebanon.

'Defensive force'

In a statement this week, Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem pledged unyielding support to Palestinian factions fighting occupation forces in Gaza. "We are with them, we will offer support and assistance in all ways and we will always carry out our duties as required during different steps and stages," he said after meeting with representatives of these factions.

The group may consider sending financial, military and logistical support as it has done in the past, said political analyst Talal Atrissi of the Lebanese University. But any direct attack on Zionist would mean an all-out war on multiple fronts including neighboring Syria. "There is nothing to suggest that there is any intent for this kind of war," he said. Atrissi said domestic considerations further reduce the risk.

"Lebanon is on the brink of collapse because of the financial crisis and political divisions," he said. "There is no government, there is no lasting, durable or stable infrastructure that would even allow someone to consider an action of this kind." Zionist state this month announced one of its largest ever war games, including drills on the Lebanese border.

Hezbollah has doubled its arsenal of precision-guided missiles over the span of a year, according to Nasrallah, and is observing the performance of Hamas' weapons keenly. So far both sides have emphasized they are prepared, not preparing, for war. "Today, there is no attempt in Lebanon to open a front with Zionists, but we will respond strongly to any Zionist aggression or provocation." - AFP