Biden adviser warns Netanyahu against escalating attacks against Lebanon

A senior adviser to US President Joe Biden has warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to escalate attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Axios has reported. Amos Hochstein’s warning comes as Israel’s military prepares for a possible war across its norther border, with tensions along the border with Lebanon continuing to rise, heightening concerns of a broader conflict.

According to Axios, two sources familiar with Hochstein’s meetings reported that the US envoy emphasised to both Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant that the US believes a broader conflict in Lebanon would not facilitate the return of displaced Israelis to their homes in the north. Hochstein cautioned that such an escalation could lead to a more extensive and prolonged regional conflict. He reiterated the US commitment to a diplomatic resolution for Lebanon, either alongside a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal or separately.

In response, Netanyahu informed the US adviser that a significant change in the security situation along the Lebanon border is essential for the return of displaced Israelis. “Israel appreciates and respects the support of the Biden administration,” said Netanyahu, “but in the end it will do what is necessary to maintain its security and return the residents of the north to their homes safely.”

Gallant told Hochstein that the opportunity for a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah has passed, given the group’s continued alliance with Hamas and refusal to end the conflict. He claimed that, under these conditions, military action remains the only option for returning residents to their homes.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced from towns and villages on both sides of the border by near-daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

“The Security Cabinet has updated the objectives of the war to include returning the residents of the north securely to their homes,” insisted Netanyahu’s office. “Israel will continue to act to implement this objective.”

Recent reports indicate that Netanyahu has been in secret talks with the leader of the right-wing New Hope Party, Gideon Sa’ar, about potentially replacing Gallant. The move could further destabilise Netanyahu’s coalition, with ultra-Orthodox parties threatening to topple the government if a controversial bill exempting ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students from military service is not passed, a move that Gallant opposes.

One US official told Axios that the idea of firing Gallant is “crazy” given his experience, particularly amid the ongoing war in Gaza and the looming threat of a larger conflict in Lebanon.

Tensions have mounted along the Lebanon-Israel border amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as the occupation state presses ahead with its genocide in Gaza. Israel has killed more than 41,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since last October, and wounded 95,500 others. An estimated 11,000 are missing, presumed dead, under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by Israel. The apartheid state is holding thousands of Palestinians with neither charge nor trial, hostages in all but name.

READ: Israel’s Netanyahu demands ‘radical change’ on border with Lebanon