The US and its allies are warning the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah against escalating the conflict in Israel as the US prepositions military assets to deter a potential widening of the war, multiple US officials and people briefed on the discussions tell CNN.
Senior administration officials do not believe at this point that Hezbollah is likely to join Hamas’ war in force against Israel, and officials think the warnings are having an impact even though there have been some escalation on the border.
The US is sending the message to Hezbollah to stay out of the conflict through a number of channels, including the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah-allied Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament, Nabih Berri. Berri was mentioned by administration officials briefing Congress on Sunday as a go-between, according to a person familiar with the briefing. The US won’t officially engage with what has been designated a terrorist group, so Berri is one natural conduit.
France has also conveyed to Hezbollah, at Israel’s request, that they must stay out of the war and not escalate further or Israel will respond significantly, a source briefed on the talks said. Those discussions were also coordinated with the US, the source said.
“Western allies who have informal ties with Hezbollah have conveyed some messages,” a Western diplomat confirmed, adding that the response by Hezbollah indicated “the pre-existing will of Hezbollah not to escalate for now.”
Every country on earth should be calling on Arab states, Israelis, and Palestinians to deescalate this situation right now. More violence is never the answer.
So Gaza should just vote and protest it’s way out of being destroyed?
Ah yes, the killing of innocent people is totally working out in their favor.
Almost like vapid generalized solutions don’t work, whether they be violent or diplomatic in nature.
Yep, that totally has worked out well so far /s
I don’t know enough about this to have an opinion. However, this post was immediately below yours:
Yeah this “don’t u do what we are doing” Schtick really gets old. The us has no moral high ground here.
Aaaaand I’m hearing that Hezbollah has attacked Northern Israel.
Could these people just… not? Is that so much to ask for?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The US and its allies are warning the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah against escalating the conflict in Israel as the US prepositions military assets to deter a potential widening of the war, multiple US officials and people briefed on the discussions tell CNN.
The US is sending the message to Hezbollah to stay out of the conflict through a number of channels, including the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah-allied Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament, Nabih Berri.
A senior defense official said Monday, “We are deeply concerned about Hezbollah making the wrong decision and choosing to open a second front to this conflict,” adding: “We are working with Israel and with our partners across the region to contain this to Gaza.”
Hezbollah is a highly trained, well-armed and sophisticated military force that also receives Iranian support, so its entry into the conflict would mark a significant escalation.
But current and former senior officials don’t believe Hezbollah is eager to join the war, largely because the risks for the group would outweigh any potential rewards.
Hezbollah’s calculus could change if it perceived that Israel has been significantly weakened – either politically or militarily, as its response to the attack unfolds, McKenzie and Knights told CNN.
The original article contains 984 words, the summary contains 202 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
