Posted on 10/07/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
The US is no longer pushing to revive its proposed deal for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and is instead focused on shaping and limiting Israeli operations in Lebanon and against Iran, US officials told CNN on Monday.
According to the report, officials within the Biden administration are increasingly concerned that what Israel has promised to be a limited operation could escalate into a broader and more prolonged conflict. US-led efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have also stalled.
Similar to Gaza, US officials noted that Israel originally planned a larger ground operation in Lebanon, but the US managed to convince them to scale back. However, officials acknowledged that the US has limited influence over Israel’s military decisions.
“We couldn’t stop them from taking action, but we can at least try to shape what it looks like,” one senior US official told CNN.
The ceasefire proposal, initiated by the US and France in late September, suggested a 21-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to allow both sides to work toward a larger agreement to return civilians to their homes in northern Israel and southern Lebanon.
“We support their ability to target militants, to degrade Hezbollah’s infrastructure, to degrade Hezbollah’s capability, but we are very cognizant of the many times in the past where Israel has gone in on what looked like limited operations and has stayed for months or for years,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Monday. “And ultimately, that’s not the outcome that we want to see.”
US officials have also admitted that their leverage over Israel’s response to Iran is limited, especially following Tehran’s missile attack last week.
The US has urged Israel not to over-escalate with a retaliatory strike, but the official who spoke to CNN warned that Israel’s perception of a proportional response might differ from what the US or the international community considers appropriate.