Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful regional ally, has signaled privately that it does not intend to attack Israel, but Lebanon’s military has bolstered its presence in the country’s south to prevent rocket fire.

Lebanon’s president and prime minister say their country must stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran because any engagement would be detrimental to the small nation engulfed in an economic crisis and struggling to recover from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

A key part of Hezbollah’s mission as an Iran-backed militia across the border from Israel is to act as a deterrent to attacks meant to hurt Tehran.