Military Denies Qahwaji Made Comments on Israeli Airstrike

The army command denied on Tuesday that Military chief General Jean Qahwaji made a statement to the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat concerning the Israeli strike that killed a prominent Hizbullah fighter with five other members in Syria's Golan Heights.

“The army command completely denies that Qahwaji made any remarks to the newspaper or any other media outlet concerning the strike,” it said in statement.

Tehran also announced that a senior Iranian general was killed in the strike, underscoring the extent of Iran's and Hizbullah's deep involvement in the volatile area on Israel's doorstep.

Sunday's deadly attack placed Hizbullah in a tough spot, as it weighs carefully how to respond. A significant retaliation risks drawing even tougher Israeli reprisals, plunging Lebanon into yet another crippling war with the Jewish state for which there is very little appetite among Lebanese public opinion.

According to Asharq al-Awsat Qahwaji stressed that “Hizbullah will retaliate (to the strike) in order to restore its deterrence, noting that the response will not be from Lebanon to prevent any repercussions on the country and a possible new war with the Jewish state.”

“If Hizbullah responds from Syria then it will be a clear indication that the conflict between Hizbullah and Israel will transfer to Syria, temporarily,” Qahwaji allegedly told the newspaper.

He warned that Israel would then find “alibis” to target more positions in Syria, whether for the regime or Hizbullah.

Stretched thin and neck-deep in Syria's civil war where the group's fighters are battling alongside President Bashar Assad's forces, Hizbullah must decide whether it can afford to open up another front with Israel.

The last such airstrike was in early December, when Israeli warplanes struck near Damascus' international airport, as well as outside a town close to the Syria-Lebanon border.

H.K.

G.K.