Hezbollah members carry mock rockets during festival to commemorate war with Israel
Hezbollah members carry mock rockets during festival to commemorate war with IsraelReuters

A senior Hezbollah official said that the Iranian-backed terror militia does not expect war with Israel but said that it was prepared should Israel attack.

"We have declared repeatedly and frequently that we, as the resistance, work to have permanent readiness and we are ready to confront the Israeli aggression if it happens, and therefore we are ready to defend ourself by all available means," deputy Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem told Reuters.

Qassem clarified though, "that it does not appear that the circumstances are for an Israeli decision for war.”

"We are working to fortify our front, and to be ready."

Qassem's remarks come after the London based Arabic-language daily A-Rai al-Yum reported last week that Hezbollah had declared a state of emergency, fearing an Israeli attack.Citing sources within Hezbollah, the newspaper said this alert was over “secret maneuvers” that Hezbollah believes that the Israel Defense Forces have been carrying out recently.

Last month, an Iranian drone entering Israeli airspace from Syria remained in Israel 1.5 minutes before the IAF shot it down. Responding to the infiltration, Israel in response attacked the drone's command center. During the IAF operation, Syrian surface-to-air missiles downed an Israeli F-16I fighter jet. Syria in response slammed Israel for "violating its airspace" and said Israel would suffer "more surprises" the next time it retaliated.

Israel has warned in recent months that Iran is expanding its control across the Middle East through proxy forces in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said that a direct confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah would be his “worst nightmare.

"I am deeply worried about hard-to-foresee escalations in the whole region,” Guterres said, adding, “The worst nightmare would be if there is a direct confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah...the level of destruction in Lebanon would be absolutely devastating, so there are major points of concern around this situation.”