Israel-Hezbollah conflict has gone on ‘long enough’: US envoy
Senior US envoy Amos Hochstein is now addressing the news media in Beirut, where he is on a diplomatic visit to try to ease tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
“The conflict along the Blue Line between Israel and Hezbollah has gone on for long enough,” Hochstein said. “Innocent people are dying, property is damaged, families are shattered and the Lebanese economy continues to decline.
“The country is suffering for no good reason. It’s in everyone’s interest to resolve it quickly and diplomatically.”
Hochstein, fresh out of meetings with Lebanese officials, said the following about the status of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict:
- Shuttle diplomacy is ongoing because the “situation is serious” along the Israel-Lebanon border with tensions spiking in recent weeks.
- US President Joe Biden’s objective is to “avoid a further escalation to a greater war”.
- He believes there is still a “diplomatic path” to resolving the crisis.
US envoy says Gaza ceasefire would calm Israel-Lebanon border
US envoy Hochstein’s message in Beirut was to Hamas, that the group should agree to the US-backed ceasefire proposal on the table. When you speak to Hamas, you’re also speaking to its ally Hezbollah, so this is a message to them as well.
Hochstein’s saying that a ceasefire in Gaza could bring an end to the war on Israel’s northern front. But what he did not say is what will happen if Hamas does not agree.
What he stressed is the level of danger and the Biden administration’s fear that this limited war could become a much greater war.
Last time Hochstein was here in Beirut in March, he had very different words. At that time, he said a ceasefire in Gaza will not automatically cause an end to the conflict in the north because Israel is demanding security guarantees.
This is Hochstein’s fourth round of shuttle diplomacy. Right now it’s still not clear whether or not he’s going to succeed.
There is still diplomacy at work here – and both sides have left the possibility of a diplomatic solution open, at least for the time being.
Momentum for a ceasefire dissipated since Blinkenn
Blinken was saying as he left [Israel] that only a ceasefire in Gaza will help solve the Hezbollah-Israel fighting along the northern border, but the momentum that came with Blinken towards a ceasefire has somewhat dissipated since then.
Hochstein met with all Israeli leaders, from the prime minister to Benny Gantz to Yair Lapid and the opposition.
He also met with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and Herzog pointed to what he called the relentless attacks and rocket fire from Hezbollah instigated by Iran in the north towards Israeli cities in the northern towns and cities.
It’s a very live political situation in Israel, some 60,000 people evacuated from 28 towns and villages along the north. They want to go home, the government wants to go home; ideally they want to be there by the beginning of the school year in September.
At first Israel says yes, it’s open to negotiations, but Hezbollah is saying not until there’s a ceasefire in Gaza.
