US officials see options for ending Israel-Hezbollah conflict without Gaza ceasefire
U.S. officials have suggested, without providing details, that there may be options for ending the conflict on the Israel-Lebanon border without a Gaza cease-fire, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.
Draft agreements have called for Hezbollah to move heavy weapons away from the Israeli border, while offering reconstruction funds for Lebanon, among other terms, according to Lebanese and European officials and published reports.
“It is impossible that we will stop if the [war] does not stop in Gaza,” a member of Hezbollah’s media office told The Washington Post this week, reiterating the group’s long-held position. “If it stops in Gaza, it stops in the south,” the media representative said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with Hezbollah’s rules.
In the event of a temporary truce in Gaza -- short of a permanent cease-fire -- Hezbollah would reciprocate in Lebanon, “as happened the first time,” the representative said, referring to the group’s decision to halt fire during a one-week pause in Gaza in November.
But that does not mean Hezbollah would accept a broader agreement, which “could not be discussed with us before the war in Gaza is stopped,” the representative said.
The Washington Post added that Qatar, which has brokered negotiations between Israel and Hamas, has also been asked by the United States to help mediate in Lebanon, according to a person familiar with the effort who, like others interviewed about the ongoing negotiations, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. Qatar’s role was first reported this week by Lebanon’s al-Akhbar newspaper.
The Biden administration continues to view a cease-fire in Gaza as a key stepping stone to resolving the crisis in Lebanon. But U.S. officials have also begun exploring backup options to de-escalate tensions, The Washington Post quoted officials familiar with the matter as saying.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Tuesday declined to spell out the prospects for a U.S. diplomatic effort succeeding, but said that “we think a diplomatic resolution is possible” and “in the interests of all parties.” A senior U.S. official who briefed reporters Wednesday said there were “openings to advance” diplomacy, while also declining to discuss Washington’s backup planning.
“I’m not going to talk in terms of Plan A, Plan B, Plan C,” said the official.
During a visit to Washington this week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel did not want a war with Hezbollah but was “preparing for every scenario.”
“I have met with Amos Hochstein twice this week. We are communicating intensively. Israel wants to find a solution that will change the security situation in the north,” he said.
During his private meetings with officials, Gallant sought to strike fear in the minds of his U.S. counterparts, suggesting that Israel was under threat from Iran and Hezbollah in ways not substantiated by U.S. intelligence assessments, said one official in the room during one of his meetings.
Gallant suggested that Iran may just “randomly start a massive war to destroy Israel, which is a bit over the top and not what the intelligence shows,” said the official.
Hezbollah has continued to engage in negotiations with Washington, via Lebanese mediators, despite the ongoing battles in Gaza, a European official in Lebanon said.
But if there’s a temporary truce in Gaza and Hezbollah holds its fire, “the question we are now asking ourselves is: Will Israel decide to stop?” the official added, according to The Washington Post.
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