US President Joe Biden’s administration has been secretly urging Israel not to initiate a military campaign against Lebanese Iran-backed militia Hezbollah in a measure to ensure the Israeli clash with Palestinian militant group Hamas does not spread beyond Gaza, the Times of Israel reported on Thursday.
Two Israeli officials familiar with the matter told the Times of Israel, “The US recognizes that Israel must respond to the increased targeting of its northern border by Hezbollah since the October 7 Hamas onslaught.”
The Israeli news outlet reported, “But the repeated attacks by the Lebanese group and the fact that Israel failed to anticipate the assault by Hamas from Gaza have led to the intensification of discussions about whether Israel must be the one to initiate a battle against Hezbollah to maintain the upper hand.”
The Israeli officials said, “The US has cautioned Israel to be careful in its military responses to Hezbollah fire, explaining that an IDF mistake in Lebanon could spark a much larger war.”
“Biden officials have indicated to Israel in recent days that if Hezbollah initiates a war against Israel, the US military will join the IDF in fighting the terror group,” they stated.
Hezbollah has fired dozens of anti-tank guided missiles, rockets, and mortars at Israeli military positions and Israeli towns since the Hamas attack on October 7, while also sending gunmen to infiltrate into Israel, Tel Aviv said.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) warned on Monday Hezbollah of a “deadly” response if it continued to carry out attacks against Israel.
Last week, the White House said that it was concerned Hezbollah could be taking part in the Israel-Hamas battle as the militia continued its operations against Israeli targets at the Lebanese-Israeli border.
John Kirby, White House national security spokesman, said, “They are a potent terrorist group, no question about it. We watch them closely. The Israelis watch them closely. We don’t want to see this conflict widened. We don’t want to see Hezbollah make that kind of a decision.”
“I would remind, again, that we take our national security interests very seriously in the region. And the reason why we moved a carrier strike group to the Eastern Med was to act as a deterrent for any other actor, including Hezbollah, that might think that widening this conflict is a good idea,” Kirby added.
