JERUSALEM: Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant instructed US Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday (Sep 16) that the window was closing for a diplomatic resolution to the standoff with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah motion in southern Lebanon.
Gallant’s remarks got here because the White Home Particular envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel to debate the disaster on the northern border the place Israeli troops have been exchanging missile fireplace with Hezbollah forces for months.
“The chance for an agreed framework within the northern area is operating out,” Gallant instructed Austin in a cellphone name, based on an announcement from his workplace.
So long as Hezbollah continued to tie itself to the Palestinian motion Hamas in Gaza, the place Israeli forces have been engaged for nearly a yr, “the trajectory is obvious,” he mentioned.
The go to by Hochstein, who is because of meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, comes amid efforts to discover a diplomatic path out of the disaster, which has pressured tens of 1000’s on each side of the border to go away their houses.
On Monday, Israeli media reported that the pinnacle of the military’s northern command had really useful a speedy border operation to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
Whereas the struggle in Gaza has been Israel’s fundamental focus for the reason that assault by Hamas-led gunmen on Oct 7 final yr, the precarious scenario within the north has fuelled fears of a regional battle that might drag in america and Iran.