Hezbollah may plan to hold off on a retaliatory attack against Israel while negotiations for a hostage deal are underway in Qatar, a source close to Hezbollah told the Washington Post, Army Radio reported Friday morning.
Hezbollah has vowed to avenge the death of its leader, Fuad Shukr, alongside Iran's relation for Israel's assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. However, in the backdrop of hostage deal negotiations in Qatar that began on Thursday, the source said the group believes retaliation can wait as it "is not urgent or time-bound."
According to the source, Hezbollah does not want to be responsible for disrupting a possible deal.
"Hezbollah will not launch its retaliation during the Qatar talks because the party does not want to be held accountable for disrupting the talks or a potential deal," the source said.
Since the threat of Hezbollah and Hamas on Israel, concerns have risen that Hezbollah and Iran would join forces in a joint response to the assassination. Western and regional countries have been pressing them to act with restraint to avoid escalations that could lead to a broad Middle Eastern war.
Many have linked the avoidance of a harsh response from the terror groups to reaching a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza. However, Hezbollah has clarified that the response to Shukr's assassination would be unrelated to the Gaza ceasefire.
Hostage deal talks show promise
The talks for a hostage deal, which are continuing on Friday, involve CIA Director William J. Burns and White House Middle East Coordinator Brett McGurk. On the Israeli side, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and Mossad Director David Barnea have attended. Also participating are Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel.
White House Spokesperson John Kirby said the Doha talks are focused, and the remaining gaps concern the steps to implement the deal. According to him, the US believes that the gaps can be closed.