"A total success" — that is how Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, speaking to supporters on Sunday evening, described a rocket attack that the Shiite militia had launched on Israel just hours before. He also suggested the attack had been meticulously calculated: "Our aim from the start was to hit military not civilian targets," Nasrallah said. But the leader, whose militia the US and others designate as a terrorist group, warned that Israel still faced attacks from Iran as well as Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Nasrallah was likely aiming his message at two audiences: First, at his supporters, to whom he praised the supposed effectiveness of the attack — despite Israeli reports that most of Hezbollah's rockets were either intercepted or disabled in preventative strikes. Secondly, Nasrallah was addressing Israel's government and military leaders, to whom he made clear that the attack was intentionally limited.

This served two purposes: Firstly, to save face with supporters, and secondly, to make an indirect offer to Israel to avoid escalation for the time being.

It seems quite possible that this weekend's attack was also been the harsh response Hezbollah had promised for the late July killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut — though that remains speculation as Hezbollah has yet to tip its hand. Just days........

© Deutsche Welle