11/9/2024–|Last update: 11/9/202401:53 AM (Makkah Time)
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted an informed American official as saying that the American administration warned Israel against initiating a broad escalation and a comprehensive war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The official indicated that the administration of US President Joe Biden supports Tel Aviv’s measures against Hezbollah, but believes that the consequences of a large-scale war with Lebanon must be taken into account.
He stressed that Washington expressed fears that the failure to conclude a deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) would push Tel Aviv to launch a war on Hezbollah.
“We felt throughout August that the risk of war was very high and we tried to promote the hostage deal to prevent that,” he added.
Regarding the negotiations to end the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip, the informed diplomat said that Hamas has toughened its position on the number of prisoners that Israel will release due to the positions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The official pointed out in particular Netanyahu’s insistence on remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor separating Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
It is noteworthy that since October 8, Lebanese and Palestinian factions in Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah, have been exchanging daily shelling with the Israeli army across the Blue Line border, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, most of them on the Lebanese side.
This coincides with the continuation of the devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which has left more than 135,000 martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amidst massive destruction and deadly famine.