US special envoy Amos Hochstein stressed from Beirut on Wednesday that there was no longer time to waste to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that would in turn lead to a diplomatic solution that would end the escalation between Hezbollah and Lebanon.
Hochstein, tasked with shuttle diplomacy between Lebanon and Israel, spoke to journalists after meeting Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, as the region anxiously anticipates retaliatory attacks from Iran and the allied Lebanese Hezbollah group on Israel.
Hochstein did not arrive to Lebanon from Tel Aviv, as was expected. Rather, he flew in on a Lebanese Middle East Airlines flight from a European country.
He met with Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, army commander Joseph Aoun and a number of opposition MPs.
Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting was Hochstein was “reassuring”, saying: “The situation today is better than yesterday.”
Hochstein’s visit is a message from US President Joe Biden that “he hasn’t forgotten about Lebanon.”
Berri did not divulge the details of the more than an hour-long meeting with Hochstein, but his comments align with information that said the envoy had requested during his meetings in Lebanon that escalation be avoided before the upcoming Gaza ceasefire talks.
Berri said: “Strong efforts are being exerted to reach a ceasefire.” He spoke of “very intense pressure to reach an agreement that should reflect positively on Lebanon.”
Speaking to reporters after his talks with Berri, Hochstein stated that they discussed the framework of the ceasefire and “we agreed that “there is no more time to waste and there's no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay.”
“The deal would also help enable a diplomatic resolution here in Lebanon,” the envoy added.
It is critical to take advantage of “this window for diplomatic action” to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, he stressed, adding that now was the right time.
“The more time goes by of escalated tensions, the more time goes by of daily conflict, the more the odds and the chances go up for accidents, for mistakes, for inadvertent targets to be hit that could easily cause escalation that goes out of control,” Hochstein warned.
Moreover, he revealed he believed that a solution to the conflict could be reached “today”, adding that he realizes that some parties want to tie it to other conflicts. “This is not our position,” he noted.
"We continue to believe that a diplomatic resolution is achievable because we continue to believe that no one truly wants a full-scale war between Lebanon and Israel," Hochstein stressed.
For his part, Berri urged the need to end the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon, expressing his “great alarm” with Israel’s political and military escalation, citing the assassinations of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month.
He also cited its ongoing massacres against the Palestinian people, the latest of which took place at a school over the weekend and left scores dead.
“This policy demonstrates Israel’s determination to go ahead with the military escalation and scuttling any effort to stop the war,” remarked the speaker.
He added that Lebanon is committed to extending the term of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in line with resolution 1701.
Lebanon has been demanding the full implementation of the resolution since its adoption in 2006, he declared.
