US seeks to prevent Israel-Hezbollah escalation, State Department official says
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Rockets are launched from Lebanon towards Israel on Sept 23, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK – The United States does not support the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah across the border, a senior US State Department official said, adding that Washington was going to discuss “concrete ideas” with allies and partners to prevent the war from broadening.
Israel launched air strikes against Hezbollah targets
Israeli officials have said the recent uptick in air strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon was designed to force the Iran-aligned group to agree to a diplomatic solution.
But the US State Department official, briefing reporters in New York on condition of anonymity, pushed back on the Israeli position, saying US President Joe Biden’s administration was focused on “reducing tensions... and breaking the cycle of strike-counterstrike”.
“I can’t recall, at least in recent memory, a period in which an escalation or intensification led to a fundamental de-escalation and led to profound stabilisation of the situation,” the official said.
Asked if that is a disagreement with the Israeli stance, the US official nodded.
The Pentagon said on Sept 23 that the US is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East, given escalating tensions, but it declined to specify the precise number or mission of the deployed forces.
The spiralling conflict over Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is a focus for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Washington had “concrete ideas” to prevent a broader war and would seek an “off ramp” to tensions, the official said.
“It’s an evolution of those discussions on which we’re trying to base some practical, concrete steps that will have good chances of reducing tensions and actually getting some traction,” the official said.
Asked if Washington believes Israel is preparing for a ground invasion of Lebanon, the US official declined to answer definitively.
“We obviously do not believe that a ground invasion of Lebanon is going to contribute to reducing tensions in the region,” he said. REUTERS
