US concerned at Israel manufacturing pretext for war with Hezbollah

Washington is apparently concerned that Israel is trying to provoke Hezbollah in order to manufacture a pretext for a wider war in Lebanon in what has been described as a cynical move to embroil the US and the region in prolonged conflict, Axios has reported. The grave concern in Washington focuses on escalating tension along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Sources briefed on the matter expressed growing anxiety within the Biden administration that Israeli military aggression is deliberately stoking instability. White House officials are said to be alarmed that Israeli strikes in Lebanon are aimed at goading Hezbollah into a response that justifies a full-scale Israeli assault.

READ: Israel warns Lebanon about entering war with reference to Gaza

While Israel denies these claims, the actions of the apartheid state have done nothing to dissuade officials in Washington that there is a contradiction between its public rhetoric and military actions.

In a telling call, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is reported to have confronted his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant about Israel’s dangerous role in exacerbating regional tensions. While officially emphasising the need to contain the conflict to Gaza, Austin pointedly expressed concerns about specific Israeli military actions in Lebanon, demanding clarification from Gallant about deadly air strikes.

The Biden administration was alarmed by two incidents in particular. The first was an Israeli air strike that hit a car in southern Lebanon and killed an elderly woman and three of her grandchildren. It took days for the Israeli military to acknowledge responsibility.

READ: Lebanon front with Israel heats up, stoking fears of wider war

The second operation was conducted by the Israeli military on Saturday when a drone strike was carried out 25 miles north of the border. It was the longest-range strike in Lebanon since the start of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which is thought widely to be an act of genocide.

US officials are unconvinced by Gallant’s claim that Israeli policy eschews war with Hezbollah. He has in the past advocated pre-emptive strikes on Lebanon. Moreover, Israeli aggression continues unabated, with strikes reaching deeper into Lebanese territory in reckless provocation.

Far from containing the conflict, Israel is deliberately broadening it. According to Axios, Biden administration officials are also concerned by Gallant’s public threats against Hezbollah, and believe that such threats only increase tension on the border.