As Biden pushes for truce in Gaza, tensions rise in Lebanon

JERUSALEM - Even as the Biden administration renewed its push for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on June 5, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel threatened tougher military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Two days after the militant group launched a barrage of rockets and exploding drones from Lebanon into northern Israel, igniting several wildfires, Mr Netanyahu visited soldiers and firefighters in the area and said the Israeli military was ready to strike.

“Whoever thinks he can hurt us and we will respond by sitting on our hands is making a big mistake,” he said, according to the Israeli government. “We are prepared for very intense action in the north.”

Against the backdrop of escalating tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border, Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns on June 5 met top Qatari and Egyptian officials

in the latest effort to broker a deal

to end the fighting in Gaza and free the hostages taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct 7. Egypt and Qatar have been key mediators between Israel and Hamas, which do not talk directly to each other.

The meeting with Mr Burns focused on finding ways to bring Israel and Hamas closer to a ceasefire, according to an official briefed on the matter, who said that Qatar had received a positive preliminary response from Hamas to

a cease-fire proposal endorsed last week

by US President Joe Biden but was still waiting for a formal reply.

Outlining the proposal May 31, Mr Biden described it as a three-phase plan proffered by Israel to Hamas that would begin with a six-week pause in fighting and ultimately lead to the “cessation of hostilities permanently” and the rebuilding of Gaza.

Even though Mr Biden described the proposal as an Israeli offer, Mr Netanyahu has not publicly endorsed the terms as described by the American president.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said it would not agree to any deal that did not provide for a permanent ceasefire.

Amid such disagreements, Mr Burns’ visit to Doha was not expected to bring about major progress.

Without an agreement to stop the fighting, Israel said on June 5 that it had launched an offensive in central Gaza, hitting the region with air and artillery strikes and sending in ground troops that clashed with Hamas militants. NEW YORK TIMES