Report: US, Hochstein in high-level contacts to prevent Israel-Lebanon escalation
Several officials from the White House, the Pentagon and the U.S. State Department held contacts at the highest levels over the past few hours in a bid to prevent a major escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, a media report said.
“U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein took part in part of these contacts and oversaw talks with Israeli and Lebanese officials in which he sought to lower the tensions and secure a return to the previous rules of engagement,” ad-Diyar newspaper reported on Friday.
Hochstein spoke of “a serious chance to reach sustainable agreements on the common (Lebanese-Israeli) border as a deal in Gaza nears, whose chances appear to be high in his opinion,” the daily added.
Hochstein also said that his country “does not want an all-out war and is seeking to prevent it,” while stressing “the need for restraint and preventing things from spiraling out of control from the Lebanese side,” ad-Diyar said.
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