Hezbollah-allied politician says Lebanon won't start war with Israel

Lebanese MP Gebran Bassil attends the 12th parliamentary session to elect a new president in the capital Beirut's downtown district on June 14, 2023 amid bitter divisions between the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents. Lawmakers in crisis-hit Lebanon failed for a 12th time to elect a new president, with bitter divisions between the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents marring the vote. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

A prominent Lebanese Christian politician allied with Hezbollah said Tuesday that Lebanon would only enter a war with Israel in self-defense after an attack.

The comments by Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement of former President Michel Aoun, came as sporadic clashes continue on the Lebanese border with Israel between Hezbollah and armed Palestinian groups in Lebanon on one side and Israeli forces on the other.

“No one can drag us into war unless the Israeli enemy attacks us, and then we will be forced to defend ourselves,” Bassil said after a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, another Hezbollah ally. Bassil also spoke by phone to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Monday. “All the Lebanese agree that they do not want war, but that does not mean that we should allow ourselves to be attacked without a response.”

International leaders fear the war between Israel and Hamas could expand into a larger, regional conflict should Hezbollah and its arsenal of an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles intervene on the side of Hamas. The flare ups on the border between Israel's military and Hezbollah fighters have internally displaced 19,646 people in Lebanon, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Last week, Israel evacuated a town on the border with Lebanon amid the escalating violence.