US Cautions Against Escalating Tensions Between Israel, Hezbollah

A man checks the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in the southern Lebanese village of Jibshit on February 27, 2024. (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP)
A man checks the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in the southern Lebanese village of Jibshit on February 27, 2024. (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP)
TT

US Cautions Against Escalating Tensions Between Israel, Hezbollah

A man checks the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in the southern Lebanese village of Jibshit on February 27, 2024. (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP)
A man checks the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in the southern Lebanese village of Jibshit on February 27, 2024. (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP)

The United States does not want to see tensions rise further between Israel and Hezbollah, the US State Department said on Tuesday.

It said Israel has assured Washington it wants a diplomatic solution to the issue.

Hezbollah said it had launched a volley of rockets at an Israeli aerial surveillance base earlier on Tuesday in response to the Israeli military's deepest attack yet into Lebanese territory, with no immediate reports of casualties from the rockets.

The army said it detected a total of 20 launches from Lebanon on Tuesday. It said some were intercepted by air defense systems while others landed in open areas.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
TT

US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.