Israel offensive in Lebanon risks broader war: US general
An Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon increases the risk of a wider regional conflict that draws in Iran, especially if Hezbollah’s existence is threatened.
That’s the view of the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, CQ Brown.
“Hezbollah is more capable than Hamas as far as overall capability, number [of] rockets and the like. And I would just say, I would see Iran be more inclined to provide greater support to Hezbollah,” Air Force General Brown told reporters.
“Again, all this could help to broaden the conflict in the region and really have Israel not only be worried about what’s happening on their southern part of the country, but also now what’s happening in the north.”
US: Proximity of Lebanon to Israel makes it ‘harder for us to support them’
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff says it will be difficult to protect Israel if a war breaks out with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Air Force General CQ Brown’s remarks came as Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant arrived in Washington, DC, to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and escalating hostilities on Israel’s northern border.
He noted that the US could be more limited in its ability to defend Israel from attacks by Hezbollah than it was in helping intercept Iran’s April missile-and-drone attack on Israel, which was largely thwarted.
“From our perspective, based on where our forces are, the short-range between Lebanon and Israel, it’s harder for us to be able to support them in the same way we did back in April,” Brown said.
Israeli PM Netanyahu seeks ‘forever war’ in Gaza, Lebanon
Israel pulling back from its offensive in Rafah will allow it to send ground troops to the Lebanese border, which will prolong the war and ensure Netanyahu’s survival, an analyst says.
“What we’re not seeing is the likelihood of this war ending with an Israeli initiative anytime soon, because Netanyahu’s political survival – his get out of jail card, if you will – depends on a war continuing forever,” Phyliss Bennis, an analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies, told Al Jazeera.
And war continuing is a very likely scenario, she added.
“There’s also not much public opposition to continuing the war and escalating the war on the Lebanese border in the north. So the possibility of war continuing seems to be very much still under way until there is serious, significant pressure from the United States in the form of cutting off the money and the weapons that are enabling this genocide to continue.”
USA caught lying again. There was never any lasting ceasefire deal on the table. USA lied to the UNSC as well, only Russia saw right through it at the UNSC. (Takes a habitual liar to detect one...)
Netanyahu: War will continue even if ceasefire deal agreed with Hamas
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/23/netanyahu-says-war-will-continue-even-if-deal-agreed-with-hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has indicated he is open to a “partial” agreement that would facilitate the return of some captives held in Gaza.
He reiterated, however, that he would not agree to any deal that stipulated an end to Israel’s war on Gaza, despite previous claims by the United States that an Israeli proposal would be a pathway to finishing the conflict “permanently”.
“The goal is to return the kidnapped and uproot the Hamas regime in Gaza,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Israeli media outlet Channel 14.
