U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed concern to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in a call on Saturday about Israel’s role in escalating tensions along the border between Israel and Lebanon, according to three Israeli and U.S. sources briefed on the call, Axios reported
Austin’s message to Gallant reflected growing anxiety in the White House that Israeli military action in Lebanon is exacerbating tensions along the border, which could lead to a regional war, the report added
Some in the Biden administration are concerned Israel is trying to provoke Hezbollah and create a pretext for a wider war in Lebanon that could draw the U.S. and other countries further into the conflict, according to sources briefed on the issue. Israeli officials flatly deny it.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, there have been daily skirmishes on the Israel-Lebanon border.
An Israeli source said Austin asked Gallant for clarification about Israeli air strikes in Lebanon and asked that Israel avoids steps that could lead to an all out war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Gallant told Austin Israeli policy is not to open a second front in Lebanon and stressed he doesn’t think such a scenario is going to happen, the Israeli source said.
Gallant also reportedly told Austin Hezbollah is escalating its attacks, including a drone attack from Syria on the city of Eilat 350 miles away. “Hezbollah is playing with fire,” Gallant told Austin.
The Biden administration has been pressing the Lebanese government and other regional powers to do what they can to prevent Hezbollah from joining the war.
President Biden’s senior adviser Amos Hochstein travelled to Lebanon last week and delivered a strong warning to Hezbollah through Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, and other Lebanese officials not to escalate the situation, a source with direct knowledge of the issue said.
The impression the Biden administration got during and after Hochstein’s visit was the Lebanese government and public as well as Hezbollah are not interested in a war with Israel, two sources with knowledge of the situation said.
The Biden administration was alarmed by two incidents with a high potential of pushing Hezbollah to respond in a way that could significantly widen the conflict with Israel, according to the Israeli source.
- In one incident an Israeli airstrike hit a car in southern Lebanon and killed an elderly woman and three of her grandchildren. It took days for the Israeli military to acknowledge it.
- The second incident happened on Saturday before the call between Austin and Gallant when the Israeli military conducted a drone strike about 25 miles north of the border. It was the longest range strike in Lebanon since the war started.
Axios
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