US envoy Amos Hochstein has called for an urgent de-escalation of the escalating cross-border exchanges of fire between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israeli forces, which have intensified since the start of the Gaza war. During his visit to Beirut, Hochstein stressed that the conflict has lasted long enough and emphasized the need for a quick and diplomatic resolution, stating that such an outcome is both achievable and urgent.
The powerful Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has stepped up attacks on northern Israel last week after an Israeli strike killed one of its senior commanders. As the US envoy visited, Hezbollah announced its first attack in several days, reporting that fighters targeted an Israeli tank with an “attack drone.” Israeli strikes have continued in south Lebanon’s border area, including one on Monday that killed a fighter from the Shiite Muslim movement.
Hochstein met with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, a day after holding talks in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Speaker Berri and I had a very good discussion,” Hochstein said. “We discussed the current security and political situation in Lebanon as well as the deal on the table right now with respect to Gaza, which also provides an opportunity to end the conflict across the Blue Line”, the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon. US President Joe Biden last month outlined a truce proposal which Hochstein said would ultimately lead to “the end of the conflict in Gaza”.
Hochstein further articulated that a ceasefire in Gaza or an alternative diplomatic solution could potentially bring the conflict across the Blue Line to an end, allowing displaced civilians to return to southern Lebanon and northern Israel. “This is a serious time and a critical moment,” Hochstein emphasized after meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, describing their discussion as “excellent”. “What we are working together (to do) is to try to identify a ways to get to a place where we prevent a further escalation,” he added. Mikati, in response, stated that “what is required is to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon and return to calm and stability on the southern border”. In a statement from his office, Mikati asserted that “continued Israeli threats” will not deter Lebanon from seeking calm.
Hochstein also met with Lebanese army chief Joseph Aoun. Hezbollah last week announced that it has conducted more than 2,100 military operations against Israel since October 8, the day after Hamas’s attack sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. The Lebanese group has long maintained that only an end to the Gaza war would halt its cross-border attacks. The violence has resulted in the deaths of at least 473 people in Lebanon, primarily fighters but also including 92 civilians, according to an AFP tally. Israeli authorities report that at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed in the country’s north.
