A source close to the Hezbollah terrorist organization told the Washington Post on Thursday that the organization will not attack Israel so long as the talks in Qatar on a ceasefire and hostage release deal are ongoing. “We can say that Hezbollah will not launch its retaliation operation during the Qatar talks because the party does not want to be held accountable for obstructing the talks or a potential deal,” the individual with close ties to Hezbollah told the newspaper. “The retaliation can wait; it is not urgent or has a time limit,” added the source. The report follows the first days of negotiations in Doha on a ceasefire and hostage release deal between US, Egyptian, Qatari and Israeli representatives. Hamas had announced on Sunday that it refuses to send representatives to the negotiations. Hezbollah has threatened to retaliate against Israel for the elimination of its senior commander, Fuad Shukr, in an Israeli strike in Beirut on July 30. Earlier this week, Al Jadeed reported that Arab countries have reached out to Hezbollah and asked it to delay its response to the elimination of Shukr until after the talks in Doha. According to the report, "heavy pressure is being exerted on Hezbollah to moderate the response, so as not to provide an excuse for Israel to expand the war with Lebanon." Related articles: 'Hezbollah has to be disarmed' 3 suspected members of Hezbollah terror cell arrested Lebanon must act against terror groups within its borders Eliminated Hezbollah terrorist was assisting Hamas Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Thursday night that the talks will continue on Friday. The spokesperson added in a statement that the efforts of the mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States are ongoing to move forward in endeavors to reach a ceasefire that would facilitate the release of hostages and enable the entry of the largest possible amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
