White House senior advisor Amos Hochstein is expected to visit Beirut today, Thursday, as part of American efforts to ease tensions on the border between Lebanon and Israel following his visit to Tel Aviv. This was stated by a US official, amid Israel's heightened rhetoric against Hezbollah, claiming the ability to destroy any village within Lebanon.
This marks Hochstein's second visit to Beirut since October 8th, where he previously met with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Army Commander Joseph Aoun, and former Director General of Public Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim in November.
Last year, Hochstein, who is responsible for global energy security affairs, proposed the possibility of discussions on the demarcation of land borders between Israel and Lebanon after mediating a 2022 agreement demarcating maritime borders between the two sides, which ensures Israel's gas rights in the "Karish" and "Tanin" fields.
Israel is interested in conducting negotiations on its land borders with Lebanon similar to the negotiations that led to the maritime border agreement.
Washington fears the extension of Israel's war in Gaza to other parts of the region, particularly with Israel's assassination of Hamas leader Salah al-Arouri in Beirut and Hezbollah field commander Wissam Tail, along with Israeli officials threatening a wide-scale attack on Lebanon if an agreement with Hezbollah to distance it from the borders is not reached.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told a senior United Nations official last Tuesday that his country is ready to hold talks for long-term stability on its southern borders with Israel.
Hertzi Halevy (center) said Israeli soldiers could transfer the fighting to Lebanon following their "successes" in Gaza (Reuters)
Israeli Threat
In a related context, the Israeli military's Chief of Staff Hertzi Halevy announced on Wednesday that his forces are capable of destroying any village inside Lebanon, in an escalation of rhetoric against Hezbollah located on the other side of the border.
Speaking in front of a crowd of soldiers in the Gaza Strip, Halevy said that their conduct in the besieged sector convinced him they could transfer the fight to Lebanese territory if necessary.
An Israeli military statement quoted Halevy, "We have fought in Gaza, so we know how to do that in Lebanon if required". He added, "After what you’ve done in Gaza, there is no village in Lebanon that you can’t enter and destroy."
Lebanese Civilian Killed by Israeli Shell
This comes after a Lebanese civilian was killed on Wednesday by an Israeli artillery shell near his home in the southern town of Kafar Kila, raising the death toll of Lebanese civilians since October 8th to 29.
Hezbollah claimed yesterday that it targeted the Israeli Marj Ayoun post, achieving a direct hit.
In response, the Israeli military said its aircraft attacked a Hezbollah operations center and a rocket launch site in southern Lebanon.
Exchanges of fire between the party and the occupation army across the border have been ongoing since October 8th, in support of the Gaza Strip, which has faced Israeli aggression since October 7th. Hezbollah maintains it does not seek a wide-scale war with Israel.
188 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 141 Hezbollah members and over 20 civilians, among them three journalists. On the other hand, the Israeli military has reported the death of 14 people, including 9 soldiers.
While Hezbollah says it targets Israeli military sites in support of Gaza, Israel claims its air and artillery strikes aim to disrupt the group's infrastructure and fighter movements around the border.
