US Envoy: Washington won’t confront Hezbollah, Israel to remain in Lebanon

The US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack said Monday that Washington will not intervene militarily against Hezbollah and confirmed that Israel will remain in the areas it occupies in southern Lebanon.

In press remarks, Barrack said Israel will not withdraw from the five contested points it captured in the last war. “We will not act against Hezbollah, whether through our forces or through US Central Command,” he stated.

The envoy described Hezbollah and Iran as “snakes whose heads must be cut off,” calling them enemies of the United States. He urged the Lebanese government to show the political will to disarm Hezbollah, claiming the group continues to grow militarily and economically, with around $60 million transferred to it from abroad.

Israel launched an offensive on Lebanon in October 2023, which escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and wounding 17,000 others. Although a ceasefire was reached in November 2024, Israel has violated it more than 4,500 times, according to official figures, causing at least 276 additional deaths and 613 injuries.

Despite the truce, Israel continues to hold five hills in southern Lebanon captured during the war, along with other territories it has occupied for decades.