Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah will evaluate the impact of the Arbaeen operation and decide later. Nasrallah appeared to be saying Hezbollah has finished — at least for now
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"Let everyone relax. He who wants to go home, go home" Nasrallah said
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, conscious that tens of thousands of Israelis remain displaced from their homes in the North, had a different view
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"This is not the end of the story" Netanyahu said
The big question is whether this is the end of the matter
It's difficult to verify whether each side has seriously hurt the other or if they even wanted to....
Reporting of any damage to Israeli military installations is censored and it is far too dangerous to approach Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon to assess if they've been hit
Israel and Hezbollah also have a history of publicly talking up their attacks while privately indicating they do not wish to escalate further
Hezbollah might have finished its retaliation but Iran's promised "harsh punishment" for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on 31 July 2024 is yet to come
Nasrallah indicated both Iran and the Houthi militia in Yemen, which Iran supports, are planning their own attacks on Israel So Israel may have blunted one attack but other threats remain
One reason Hezbollah said it waited so long to attack was that it wanted to give the Gaza ceasefire negotiations the best chance to succeed
If a ceasefire was signed between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, 1. Hezbollah could claim its pressure on Israel worked and could cease its attacks 2. Iran could also say it did not want to jeopardise any truce
The question is then what Israel would consider a victory
