BEIRUT: The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement warned in a recent interview that allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad would strike back if Israeli attacks inside Syria continued.
Few expected Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's comments to be put to the test so quickly. Three days later, an Israeli airstrike inside Syria killed six Hezbollah fighters, including a son of the group's late military chief, Imad Mughniyeh.
But with political and sectarian divisions at home, it may be difficult to win backing for any attacks from Lebanon which could trigger war with Israel.
"The rules of the game are to respond outside Lebanon unless the Israelis bring war to Lebanon," a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters, explaining that it wants to avoid all-out war.
Lebanon has not recovered from its 2006 war with Israel and sending fighters to Syria has stretched Hezbollah's capabilities. In addition, the Israeli strike came at a sensitive time for the group.
Hezbollah is trying to contain the damage caused by one of its operatives who confessed to spying for Israel in a case that shattered the group's aura of impenetrability.
The suspected spy is believed to have leaked Hezbollah's plans to avenge the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh.
Mughniyeh, whose son was killed by Israel last week, was implicated in the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and U.S. and French barracks in Beirut, and attacks on Israeli targets. Hezbollah accuses Israel of killing him, which Israel denies.
"The group tried to retaliate but was not successful for several reasons. Some of the operations were leaked to the Israelis and others were not possible for technical reasons," a security source told Reuters.
Despite that, the group has little choice but to respond.
Lebanese analyst Nabil Boumonsef said Hezbollah could not start a war with Israel. Instead, the response would be a targeted attack that stopped short of full confrontation.
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