Report: Israel, Hezbollah agree to de-escalate after latest flare-up

The Israeli airstrikes that assassinated two Hezbollah commanders represented “a harsh message to Hezbollah,” following “a security operation carried out about a week prior to the strikes, which Hezbollah is still keeping secret," a diplomatic source said, adding that it is likely to remain unclaimed.

"High-level contacts took place between Beirut and Washington to contain the escalation, culminating in an agreement whereby Israel would settle for what it had done, in exchange for Hezbollah not retaliating for the assassination of the two commanders. This prompted intensive internal contacts among the three presidencies (Joseph Aoun, Nabih Berri and Nawaf Salam), which led to a commitment to de-escalation," the source told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper.

The source added that they believe that "the days leading up to the Israeli elections will be extremely difficult on both the security and military levels, given Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on achieving a moral victory by decisively winning the battle over Ali al-Taher.”

“Attempts to confine the confrontation geographically to this point appear uncertain, which increases the likelihood of its expansion should it erupt," the source warned.