The United States has ramped up its diplomatic efforts to defuse Israel-Hezbollah tensions and reach a cease-fire in Gaza all the while ratifying a new $20 billion arms deal for Tel Aviv.
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut on Wednesday to discuss deterring an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, after the latter killed two senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
Hochstein said he believed an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah could be avoided but that Israel and Hamas needed to move toward a peace agreement for Gaza without further delay.
“We continue to believe that a diplomatic resolution is achievable because we continue to believe that no one truly wants a full-scale war between Lebanon and Israel,” Hochstein said after talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a strong Hezbollah ally.
Hochstein said he talked with Berri about the framework agreement on the table for a Gaza cease-fire, adding that a deal would also help enable a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon to prevent a wider war outbreak.
“He (Berri) and I agreed there is no more time to waste and there’s no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay,” he told a news conference.
Iran-backed Hezbollah began cross-border attacks on Israel soon after Israeli forces began a military assault on Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.
Hochstein is due to meet with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mikati said talks with Arab and Western leaders had intensified due to the seriousness of the situation in Lebanon and the region.
“We are facing uncertain opportunities for diplomacy which is now moving to prevent war and stop Israeli aggression,” Mikati said in a speech ahead of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
When asked by a reporter whether Israel and Hezbollah could avoid a war, Hochstein replied: “I hope so, I believe so.”
More arms for Israel
Ironically, Hochstein’s visit comes a day after the Biden administration approved more than $20 billion in new weapons sales to Israel.
Congress was notified Tuesday of the impending sale, including more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, 120-millimeter tank ammunition, high explosive mortars, and tactical vehicles.
The sale comes at a time of intense concern that Israel may become involved in a wider Middle East war.
“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives,” the State Department said in a release on the sale.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes continued to target Gaza on Wednesday ahead of cease-fire talks that Washington hopes will stop Iran from striking Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The West has urged Iran to stand down its threat to avenge his death.
Tehran has rejected the calls, with foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani saying the demand “brazenly asks Iran to take no deterrent action against a regime which has violated its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The escalation has raised fears of a wider conflict after more than 10 months of war in Gaza, which has claimed nearly 40,000 lives, according to the Health Ministry.
So far, there has been only one, weeklong truce in the Gaza fighting, in November, when dozens of hostages in Gaza were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Renewed talks
Ahead of Thursday’s cease-fire talks, a Hamas official said the resistance movement was “continuing its consultations with the mediators.”
“Hamas really wants an end to the war and a cease-fire agreement on the basis of the (Biden) plan,” another Hamas official said, referring to a proposal U.S. President Joe Biden laid out on May 31.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday detailed its conditions for a truce, including “a veto on certain prisoners” being released from its jails.
Biden said on Tuesday that a Gaza cease-fire deal could deter Iran from attacking Israel.
Asked if a truce between Israel and Hamas could stave off an Iranian assault, Biden said: “That’s my expectation.” He added that while negotiations were “getting hard,” he was “not giving up.”
‘High alert’
Israeli President Isacc Herzog said on social media platform X that the country remained on “high alert.”
“I want to express my appreciation and thanks to our allies standing united with us in the face of the hate-filled threats of the Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies,” he said.
The escalation has prompted Western governments to issue advisories against travel to Lebanon as well as prepare contingency plans to evacuate their nationals from the region if full-scale war breaks out.
A ferry seen off Limassol, Cyprus was on standby to provide assistance “in the event of an evacuation of the conflict zone,” a spokesperson for its charterer said.
The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a guided missile submarine to the region in support of Israel.
