A White House official said that a senior advisor to US President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Monday to hold meetings with senior officials there to avoid further escalation between Israel and Lebanon.
The official – who requested anonymity – added that Amos Hochstein will work to strengthen efforts to avoid further escalation along the “Blue Line” between Israel and Lebanon.
The attacks between Israel and the Hezbollah group increased fears of a large-scale war breaking out across the Middle East.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said yesterday, Sunday, that “Hezbollah’s increasing attacks are leading us to the brink of what could be a broader escalation… an escalation that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the region.”
Commenting on the statements of the Israeli army spokesman, Maariv newspaper, quoting the Israeli army, said that Hagari’s statements regarding a widespread escalation in Lebanon are not a threat, but rather a message to Washington and the world.
Since the eighth of last October, Palestinian and Lebanese factions in Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah, have exchanged daily bombardments with the Israeli army, resulting in hundreds killed and wounded, most of them on the Lebanese side.
The factions say that they stand in solidarity with Gaza, which has been exposed to an Israeli war since October 7 that has left more than 122,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid deadly famine and massive destruction.
The United States and France are working to reach a negotiated settlement to contain the escalation on Lebanon’s southern border.