“Senior White House figures privately told Israel that the U.S. would support its decision to ramp up military pressure against Hezbollah — even as the Biden administration publicly urged the Israeli government in recent weeks to curtail its strikes, according to American and Israeli officials.
Presidential adviser Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East, told top Israeli officials in recent weeks that the U.S. agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s broad strategy to shift Israel’s military focus to the north against Hezbollah in order to convince the group to engage in diplomatic talks to end the conflict, the officials told POLITICO.
Not everyone in the administration was on board with Israel’s shift, despite support inside the White House, the officials said. The decision to focus on Hezbollah sparked division within the U.S. government, drawing opposition from people inside the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community who believed Israel’s move against the Iran-backed militia could drag American forces into yet another Middle East conflict.”
“Israel began a “limited” ground operation in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, in a significant escalation of its conflict against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on X that they were conducting “localized and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure” in villages close to the Israel-Lebanon border.
The decision to send troops into Lebanon begins a new phase of the conflict, and comes after intense Israeli bombing that on Friday killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike in southern Beirut. It came in response to Hezbollah’s campaign of cross-border strikes on Israel, which began a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.”
“A diplomatic solution, perhaps one in which Hezbollah agrees to remove its positions close to Lebanon’s southern border, is certainly possible. That would allow Israelis to move back to their homes in the north. Whatever the outcome, however, Israel will likely not be able to eliminate Hezbollah, just as it has failed at eliminating Hamas. And continued aggression could lead to more extreme outcomes in the future.”
“Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Sunday launched their heaviest exchange of fire after months of strikes and counterstrikes that have raised fears of an all-out war.
By mid-morning, the exchange of fire had ended, with both sides saying they had only aimed at military targets. The Israeli strikes killed three militants in Lebanon, and Israel’s military said a soldier was killed by either an interceptor of incoming fire or shrapnel from one. But the situation remained tense.”
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“Israel said around 100 warplanes launched airstrikes targeting thousands of rocket launchers across southern Lebanon to thwart an imminent Hezbollah attack. Hezbollah said it launched hundreds of rockets and drones aimed at military bases and missile defense positions in northern Israel and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
Hezbollah called the attack an initial response to the targeted killing of one of its founding members and top commanders, Fouad Shukur, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month. It said its military operations for Sunday were concluded, but Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said they will “reserve the right to respond at a later time” if the results of Sunday’s attack aimed at a military intelligence base near Tel Aviv aren’t sufficient.
Israel’s military said its intelligence base near Tel Aviv wasn’t hit. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said an initial assessment showed “very little damage” in Israel.”
“Spanish police believe they have smashed a gang that was planning to make up to 1,000 Kamikaze drones and sell them to the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.
It comes following raids in Barcelona and Badalona, to the north of the city, in which a total of three people were arrested. Another suspect was also detained in Germany.”