Hezbollah essentially brushed off the warning that the U.S. can’t rein in Israel, according to reports.
By World Israel News Staff
The U.S. warned Hezbollah and the Lebanese government that Washington would not be able to rein in Israel, in the event that it launches an offensive against the terror group, according to a new report.
The Biden administration’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Amos Hochstein relayed that message directly to Lebanese officials who have ties with Hezbollah, Axios reported on Tuesday.
Hochstein said that “Hezbollah is wrong to think that the U.S.” could prevent “Israel from invading Lebanon,” should the terror group continue its attacks against communities and military assets in northern Israel.
The message was meant to inform Hezbollah that it would be wise to “indirectly negotiate with Israel,” rather than exacerbate the existing hostilities.
But according to the Axios report, Hezbollah essentially brushed off the warning.
Shortly after Hochstein’s visit, an American diplomat said that Hezbollah sent a message through interlocuters to Washington. The terror group said that “while it doesn’t want a war,” it is “confident it can hit Israel significantly if it invades Lebanon.”
“The situation is serious. What President Biden wants to do is to avoid a further escalation to a greater war,” Hochstein said last week at a media conference in Beirut, prior to meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem days later.
“It will take everyone’s interest in ending this conflict now. And we believe that there is a pathway diplomatically to do it. If the sides agree to it.”
In a recent interview with Channel 14 News, Netanyahu said that Israel is open to a diplomatic agreement that would see Hezbollah forces retreat north of the Litani River, but added that any agreement on the matter “must be” on Israel’s “terms.”
Hochstein’s warning came just days before a bombshell report in The Telegraph asserted that Hezbollah is using Beirut’s international airport as a warehouse for weapons and explosives.
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