Axios: U.S. Officials Hope Israeli Military Pressure on Hezbollah Will Lead to Diplomatic Agreement

According to Axios, U.S. officials hope that increased military pressure from Israel on Hezbollah in Lebanon will lead to a diplomatic agreement with the Iran-backed group, allowing civilians on both sides to return home after nearly a year of border clashes. The report states that while U.S. officials agree with their Israeli counterparts that recent attacks on Hezbollah are aimed at 'reducing tensions through increased pressure,' they are concerned that this strategy is 'very complex' and could easily lead to an all-out war. One U.S. official in the report stated, 'One of our key messages was that we want to keep a path for diplomacy open, and therefore we do not want the Israelis to take actions that would block that path.' Both U.S. and Israeli officials acknowledged in the report that the Biden administration has asked Israel to refrain from ground incursions or airstrikes in civilian areas that could escalate the conflict. This report follows a wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, including targeting launchers prepared for attack. Hezbollah also fired at least 10 rockets into northern Israel on Saturday, triggering warning sirens in the Jezreel Valley for the first time since the war began in October. Israel has stated that it will ensure security in its northern regions by any means necessary, whether diplomatic or military. Israel is calling for Hezbollah to withdraw from border areas in Lebanon adjacent to Israel. So far, diplomatic efforts to push Hezbollah back to the Litani River, 30 kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon border, based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, have failed. Hezbollah was established in 1982 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Several countries, including the United States, Israel, Germany, Serbia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Australia, have designated the group as a terrorist organization. The Israeli army announced on Saturday that it had extensively targeted southern Lebanon with airstrikes after discovering Hezbollah's plans to launch a missile attack on its territory. According to Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israeli army, dozens of Israeli fighter jets have attacked Hezbollah's missile launchers. Hagari stated at a press conference, 'To date, we have targeted about 400 Hezbollah missile launchers.'