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  • 17 Sep, 2024

Biden: US will do everything possible to avoid 'big war' between Israel and Hezbollah

Biden: US will do everything possible to avoid 'big war' between Israel and Hezbollah

The United States says it has an "urgent need" to stop regional threats as the conflict in Gaza threatens to escalate into a major regional conflict.

The United States is seeking to prevent a "big war" between Israel and Hezbollah, a White House spokesman said, amid growing concerns about a major war.

Speaking on Sunday during a visit to Lebanon, where Iranian armed forces clash daily with Israel, Amos Hochstein said the United States is working hard to eliminate the violence There is a growing threat that the war will begin in October.

Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire on the border between Israel and Lebanon in the past eight months. Last week, Lebanese groups fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israeli military positions after a commander was killed. Speaking after a meeting with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah, Hochstein called for a "quick" demotion.

– We have seen things increase in the last few weeks. "What President Biden wants to do is avoid escalating into a bigger war," Hochstein told reporters.

The US ambassador went to Beirut on Monday after the events in Israel. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that he had warned Israeli officials that continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah would lead to "a major escalation from Iran." In Beirut, Hochstein said it was "in everyone's interest" to resolve the conflict quickly through diplomatic means. "This is possible and encouraging."

Guidelines

Hochstein's visit comes as Hezbollah refrains from attacks for two days during the Eid al-Adha holiday, which began on Sunday. But that slumber ended on Sunday, when Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli tanks and suicide drones.

The Lebanese group also released a nine-minute video purporting to be footage from a surveillance drone recovered from Israel. The film shows and identifies military installations in the north of the country as well as key infrastructure in Haifa, Israel's third largest city, including a power plant. Hezbollah says it will not stop its attacks in northern Israel if the operation in Gaza ends.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that "no matter what happens, we will restore security in the north," as his fellow nationalists said about anger response.

Israel's military said Monday that a "central commander" of Hezbollah's rocket division was killed in a drone strike.

The US State Department said late Monday it was moving forward with its call to avoid major conflicts.

"We believe that a diplomatic framework can be implemented to resolve this conflict without an all-out war," a spokesman said. In Beirut, Hochstein called the cease-fire proposal in Gaza promoted by the Biden administration that he hopes will speed up peace across the "Blue Line," which refers to the disputed border between Israel and Lebanon.

He said "a ceasefire and/or other diplomatic solutions in Gaza could also end the war on both sides of the Blue Line" and allow displaced people to return to the southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

Hezbollah said it has carried out more than 2,100 military operations against Israel since October 8.

Violence on the border between Israel and Lebanon has killed at least 473 people on the Lebanese side, most of them soldiers but also 92 civilians, according to an AFP tally. Israeli authorities said 15 soldiers and 11 civilians were killed in the northern part of the country.