US Seeking Diplomatic Deal to Prevent Israel-Hezbollah Conflict, Pentagon Chief Says

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) speaks to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) during their meeting at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 25 June 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) speaks to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) during their meeting at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 25 June 2024. (EPA)
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US Seeking Diplomatic Deal to Prevent Israel-Hezbollah Conflict, Pentagon Chief Says

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) speaks to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) during their meeting at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 25 June 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) speaks to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) during their meeting at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 25 June 2024. (EPA)

The United States is urgently working towards a diplomatic agreement that would allow Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes on both sides of the border, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday.

Shelling on Israel's northern border has led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from areas on both sides of the frontier, and has escalated in recent weeks, leading to fears of an all-out Israel-Hezbollah war.

"Hezbollah's provocations threaten to drag the Israeli and Lebanese people into a war that they do not want. Such a war would be a catastrophe for Lebanon and it would be devastating for innocent Israeli and Lebanese civilians," Austin said at the start of his meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon.

"Diplomacy is by far the best way to prevent more escalation. So we're urgently seeking a diplomatic agreement that restores lasting calm to Israel's northern border and enables civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border," he added.

Israel's national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi has said that it will spend the coming weeks trying to resolve the conflict with Lebanon's Iran-backed, heavily armed Hezbollah group and would prefer a diplomatic solution.

Hanegbi said Israel had been discussing with US officials the possibility that an expected end of intense Israeli military operations in Gaza would allow an "arrangement" to be reached with Hezbollah.

At the Pentagon, Gallant said that he would discuss military readiness with Austin. "We are working closely together to achieve an agreement, but we must also discuss readiness on every possible scenario," Gallant said.



Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
TT

Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon.

The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals.

Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force, Reuters reported.

Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement.

There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes.

The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon.

Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.