(JNS) U.S. presidential deputy assistant Amos Hochstein said in Beirut on Wednesday, August 14 that he believes that an all-out war between Israel and Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah can be averted.
“I hope so and I believe so,” the diplomat replied when asked at a news conference whether a major confrontation between the two sides can be prevented.
The White House dispatched Hochstein to Lebanon as part of a regional effort to try to calm down rising tensions amid threats by Iran and its terrorist proxies to avenge the deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders late last month.
Hochstein, a frequent visitor to Beirut during Biden’s term, arrived there on Wednesday, holding the press conference after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Amal movement, which is aligned with Hezbollah.
“We continue to believe that a diplomatic resolution is achievable because we continue to believe that no one truly wants a full-scale war between Lebanon and Israel,” Hochstein said, according to Reuters.
“Here in Lebanon, we believe we can get to the end of the conflict now. Today,” he added, saying that it should be decoupled from other regional conflicts, in apparent reference to the Swords of Iron war.
“We can reach an end to the conflict now, but we understand that we also need to work to an end to the conflict in Gaza,” he continued.
Hochstein said he spoke with Berri about the draft agreement for a Gaza ceasefire and that securing an agreement would help in enabling a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon to avoid a full-scale war.
Hezbollah has attacked northern Israel nearly every day since joining the war in support of Gaza-based Hamas on Oct. 8, killing 22 people and causing widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israeli civilians remain internally displaced due to the ongoing violence.
Iran’s Lebanese terrorist proxy has vowed revenge for Israel’s targeted killing of senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 30. That strike was in retaliation to a Hezbollah rocket attack on July 27 that hit a soccer pitch in the Golan Druze town of Majdal Shams, killing 12 children.
Tehran has also pledged to retaliate against Israel for the July 31 assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyah in the Iranian capital, which Jerusalem has not taken responsibility for.
Hochstein is also scheduled to meet with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib during his Beirut visit.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mikati said that talks with Arab and Western leaders have intensified because of the serious situation in the Middle East.
“We are facing uncertain opportunities for diplomacy which are now moving to prevent war and stop Israeli aggression,” Mikati said in a speech ahead of a Cabinet meeting, Reuters reported.
During a visit to an IDF intelligence base in northern Israel on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We deal with both removing threats and preparing all the possibilities to be able to attack wherever we decide.
“We are determined to fulfill our mission—we must allow the safe return of [Israel’s northern] residents to their homes, once we ensure that Hezbollah withdraws north of the Litani River,” he added, referencing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War with the Iranian proxy.
