عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Features

What Role is the US Playing to Prevent Conflict in Lebanon from Escalating?

US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati [not pictured] in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2023. REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)
US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati [not pictured] in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2023. REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)
TT
20
TT

What Role is the US Playing to Prevent Conflict in Lebanon from Escalating?

US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati [not pictured] in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2023. REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)
US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati [not pictured] in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2023. REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)

The United States is working hard to prevent the conflict in Lebanon from escalating. To achieve this, the Biden administration has sent special envoy Amos Hochstein to the region. His goal is to ease tensions and return to previous engagement rules.

Concerns have grown that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may follow through on threats of a full-scale war against Lebanon, especially with the military operation in Rafah nearing its end.

Hochstein is experienced with the Lebanese situation, having successfully brokered a historic maritime border agreement between Lebanon and Israel in October 2022.

He now aims to negotiate a similar agreement for the land borders to secure long-term stability between Hezbollah and Israel.

Hochstein has built a strong relationship with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who negotiates with the Americans on behalf of Hezbollah.

The US envoy hopes to replicate his 2022 success, although the ongoing Gaza conflict complicates efforts, as Hezbollah ties the fates of Gaza and Lebanon together.

Former Lebanese Ambassador to Washington, Dr. Riad Tabbara, says Washington’s current aim is to maintain regional stability and avoid a wide-scale war between Israel and its enemies.

Such a conflict could force US military involvement, an undesirable scenario in an election year with public and congressional opposition to war.

“The main American concern is ensuring any solutions protect Israel, which is struggling politically and militarily,” Tabbara told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“A key part of the US stance is to prevent the war from spreading in southern Lebanon,” he added, noting that “this is why the US continues to send envoys like Hochstein to the region.”

Additionally, the US engages in indirect communications with Hezbollah, despite its public policy of not dealing with the group.

According to Dr. Sami Nader, Director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, the US holds significant influence in Lebanon but isn't the sole player since World War II, with other actors entering the scene.

Nader highlighted US efforts to prevent Lebanon from being engulfed in war, citing reluctance for a third conflict amid ongoing crises in Ukraine and trade tensions with China.

He emphasized that the timing of any conflict is problematic for the Biden administration, facing a contentious election where mistakes could be exploited by opponents.

Despite American aversion to foreign wars and spending abroad, Nader noted Washington’s commitment to supporting regional allies, particularly Israel.

Dr. Hilal Khashan from the American University of Beirut explained that US mediation between Israel and Lebanon is influenced by concerns about how war would impact US President Joe Biden’s reelection prospects, potentially forcing US support for Israel in conflict scenarios.

Khashan pointed out that while France plays a minimal role in the region, the US remains pivotal in shaping Lebanese political outcomes.

The US collaborates with France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt in a committee seeking to resolve Lebanon’s presidential vacuum, yet ongoing differences among political parties hampers progress towards a consensus candidate.

Moreover, Washington continues to prioritize assistance to the Lebanese army, aiming to counter Hezbollah’s influence, with substantial aid contributions since 2006, including recent support to improve salaries.

Most Viewed

 
Features

Dialysis Patients Struggle to Get Treatment in Blockaded Gaza. Officials Say Hundreds Have Died 

Mohamed Attiya, 54, receives dialysis treatment at Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Monday, April 14, 2025.(AP)
Mohamed Attiya, 54, receives dialysis treatment at Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Monday, April 14, 2025.(AP)
TT
20
TT

Dialysis Patients Struggle to Get Treatment in Blockaded Gaza. Officials Say Hundreds Have Died 

Mohamed Attiya, 54, receives dialysis treatment at Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Monday, April 14, 2025.(AP)
Mohamed Attiya, 54, receives dialysis treatment at Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Monday, April 14, 2025.(AP)

Twice a week, Mohamed Attiya’s wheelchair rattles over Gaza’s scarred roads so he can visit the machine that is keeping him alive.

The 54-year-old makes the journey from a temporary shelter west of Gaza City to Shifa Hospital in the city’s north. There, he receives dialysis for the kidney failure he was diagnosed with nearly 15 years ago. But the treatment, limited by the war's destruction and lack of supplies, is not enough to remove all the waste products from his blood.

“It just brings you back from death,” the father of six said.

Many others like him have not made it. They are some of Gaza’s quieter deaths from the war, with no explosion, no debris. But the toll is striking: Over 400 patients, representing around 40% of all dialysis cases in the territory, have died during the 18-month conflict because of lack of proper treatment, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

That includes 11 patients who have died since the beginning of March, when Israel sealed the territory's 2 million Palestinians off from all imports, including food, medical supplies and fuel. Israeli officials say the aim is to pressure Hamas to release more hostages after Israel ended their ceasefire.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid, declined to comment on the current blockade. It has said in the past that all medical aid is approved for entry when the crossings are open, and that around 45,400 tons of medical equipment have entered Gaza since the start of the war.

Hardships mount for Gaza patients

Attiya said he needs at least three dialysis sessions every week, at least four hours each time. Now, his two sessions last two or three hours at most.

Israel’s blockade, and its numerous evacuation orders across much of the territory, have challenged his ability to reach regular care.

He has been displaced at least six times since fleeing his home near the northern town of Beit Hanoun in the first weeks of the war. He first stayed in Rafah in the south, then the central city of Deir al-Balah. When the latest ceasefire took effect in January, he moved again to another school in western Gaza City.

Until recently, Attiya walked to the hospital for dialysis. But he says the limited treatment, and soaring prices for the mineral water he should be drinking, have left him in a wheelchair.

His family wheels him through a Gaza that many find difficult to recognize. Much of the territory has been destroyed.

“There is no transportation. Streets are damaged,” Attiya said. “Life is difficult and expensive.”

He said he now has hallucinations because of the high levels of toxins in his blood.

“The occupation does not care about the suffering or the sick,” he said, referring to Israel and its soldiers.

A health system gutted by war

Six of the seven dialysis centers in Gaza have been destroyed during the war, the World Health Organization said earlier this year, citing the territory’s Health Ministry. The territory had 182 dialysis machines before the war and now has 102. Twenty-seven of them are in northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people rushed home during the two-month ceasefire.

“These equipment shortages are exacerbated by zero stock levels of kidney medications,” the WHO said.

Israel has raided hospitals on several occasions during the war, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes. Hospital staff deny the allegations and say the raids have gutted the territory's health care system as it struggles to cope with mass casualties from the war.

The Health Ministry says over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel's offensive, without saying how many were civilians or combatants. Hamas-led fighters killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.

Officials say hundreds of patients have died

At Shifa Hospital, the head of the nephrology and dialysis department, Dr. Ghazi al-Yazigi, said at least 417 patients with kidney failure have died in Gaza during the war because of lack of proper treatment.

That’s from among the 1,100 patients when the war began.

Like Attiya, hundreds of dialysis patients across Gaza are now forced to settle for fewer and shorter sessions each week.

“This leads to complications such as increased levels of toxins and fluid accumulation ... which could lead to death,” al-Yazigi said.

Mohamed Kamel of Gaza City is a new dialysis patient at the hospital after being diagnosed with kidney failure during the war and beginning treatment this year.

These days, “I feel no improvement after each session,” he said during one of his weekly visits.

The father of six children said he no longer has access to filtered water to drink, and even basic running water is scarce. Israel last month cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the arid territory.

Kamel said he has missed many dialysis sessions. Last year, while sheltering in central Gaza, he missed one because of an Israeli bombing in the area. His condition deteriorated, and the next day he was taken by ambulance to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.

“The displacement has had consequences,” Kamel said. “I am tired.”