Wall Street Journal: Biden Conviced Netanyahu to Refrain from 'Preemptive Attack' on Hezbollah

The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, December 23, that U.S. President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from a 'preemptive attack' against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, just days after the terrorist attack by Hamas militants on October 7. Biden warned that such an attack could spark a broader regional war. The newspaper cited 'officials' stating that Israel had intelligence suggesting Hezbollah aimed to provoke some hawkish Israeli officials into war by crossing the border and preparing for a multi-faceted attack; information the United States deemed 'unreliable.' According to the report, when Biden spoke with Netanyahu on October 10, urging him to consider the consequences of an attack, Israeli warplanes were in the sky awaiting orders. Israel did not carry out a preemptive strike, and the conversation between Biden and other U.S. officials and Netanyahu and his war cabinet, details of which had not been previously reported, exemplified the White House's efforts to prevent the escalation of a conflict that could involve the United States. Since October 7, the Biden administration's primary focus has been to prevent any escalation of tensions along Israel's northern border with Lebanon, a region where Israeli forces have engaged in daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah militants and Iranian-backed Palestinian militants. Following the Hamas attack, the U.S. deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean and subsequently a nuclear submarine to bolster deterrence. The U.S. recently stationed a special naval force in the Red Sea to counter attacks from Iranian-backed Houthi militants. The Wall Street Journal detailed the Biden administration's diplomatic efforts to convince Israel, stating that the U.S. received the first indication of Israel's decision to carry out a preemptive attack around 6:30 a.m. Washington time on October 10. Israeli officials informed the White House that they believed Hezbollah was preparing for an attack. American officials noted that Israel knew it could not attack Hezbollah alone and sought U.S. assistance. Senior intelligence, military, and national security advisors to Biden, including CIA Director William Burns, National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman CQ Brown, held a meeting that morning to discuss Israel's decision and the discrepancies between U.S. intelligence and Israeli assessments regarding Hezbollah's potential attack. After receiving the report, Biden contacted Netanyahu and his war cabinet, urging Israel to refrain from an attack. Netanyahu was not convinced, but members of his war cabinet, particularly Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, explained that a broader war was inevitable and they wanted to initiate a preemptive strike. The U.S. did not accept this and insisted that a wider war could be avoided. American officials stated that after 45 minutes of discussion, Netanyahu ended the call, saying he would discuss the matter with his cabinet. Around the same time, northern Israel went on high alert. Israeli soldiers at the northern border received immediate orders from their commanders to prepare for entering Lebanese territory and fighting Hezbollah. Israel warned all residents of northern Israel to immediately go to shelters. It took about six hours of calls and back-and-forth meetings for Israeli officials to refrain from attacking Lebanon, insisting on U.S. intelligence indicating no imminent Hezbollah attack. Officials from the Prime Minister's Office and the Israeli Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the Wall Street Journal's report. The report states that the risks of miscalculation on both sides of the border remain, adding that based on collected data, militants in Lebanon have targeted Israel over 200 times, resulting in the deaths of ten people, including seven Israeli soldiers. Israel has also responded with nearly a thousand attacks on southern Lebanon, killing over 120 Hezbollah fighters and ten Lebanese civilians. Israeli leaders have repeatedly promised that if Hezbollah does not agree to withdraw from the border, they will deliver broader strikes against Lebanon. The newspaper describes the positions of the Biden administration and Israel as follows: Americans say, 'Let's consider all options diplomatically,' while an Israeli official remarked, 'Very well, diplomacy is good, but without the use of force, you won't get where you want.' This official stated, 'We say deterrence in the north and victory in the south. But this is very dangerous. You can see the escalation of tensions precisely because Hezbollah continues its behavior.' The Wall Street Journal concludes by noting that there are signs of progress in diplomatic efforts. According to Lebanese officials, the Lebanese Foreign Minister has told his French counterparts that his country is ready to work on an agreement. Israeli officials, after more than two months of attacks that have dealt significant blows to Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, have also expressed optimism that the militant group will agree to withdraw its forces from the Israel-Lebanon border. During the deadly terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, approximately 1,200 people were massacred in Israel, and nearly 240 others, including women, the elderly, and children, were abducted. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Israel, Japan, and several other countries classify Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group as terrorist organizations.