Senior US officials predict further escalation between Israel and the Hezbollah group, which operates in southern Lebanon. Washington fears that this will lead to the start of a full-scale war.
Points of attention
- The US administration is concerned about the further escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
- Possible scenarios include the elimination of group leaders, attacks on weapons depots and infrastructure.
- Israel is conducting operations in Lebanon to force Hezbollah to negotiate so Israelis can return to their homes in the north.
Israel and Hezbollah could start a full-scale war
The Biden administration concluded that it would be extremely difficult for the parties to achieve de-escalation. In particular, because of the recent Israeli shelling of objects on the territory of Lebanon.
Jerusalem informed Washington about readiness for military action. This is how Israel wants to force Hezbollah fighters to negotiate so that Israelis living in the north of the country can return to their homes.
American officials assume the continuation of shelling on the territory of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah fighters are likely to respond with drone strikes.
One of the sources considers the most realistic scenario in which Israel will take the following actions:
liquidation of the leaders of "Hezbollah";
attacks on warehouses with weapons and ammunition of the group;
strikes on the communication infrastructure.
The White House has not yet decided on an assessment of how exactly the escalation between the parties will take place.
What is happening now between Israel and Hezbollah
Relations significantly worsened after September 17. Pagers used by militants were blown up on the territory of Lebanon for two days.
Israel blamed Hezbollah for this.
37 people died due to the explosion of communication devices. Almost 3,000 people were injured.
There is a version that Israel has been preparing an operation to blow up pagers for 15 years.
After that, Jerusalem shelled the territory of southern Lebanon. Aviation destroyed the military infrastructure of the militants.
