The Minister of Defense of Israel, Yoav Gallant, assured this Thursday in Tel Aviv to Amos Hochstein, advisor to the White House, that time is running out to find a diplomatic solution to the escalation with the Shiite militia Hezbollah on the border with Lebanonwhere tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.
“We are at a crossroads: there is a short window of time for diplomatic understandings,” Gallant told Hochstein at the Defense Ministry headquarters, according to a statement from that ministry.
(Also read: Hamas number two dies in an Israeli bombing on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon).
The Israeli minister assured that although his country “prefers” a diplomatic solution, “will not tolerate the threats posed by Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, and will guarantee the security of Israeli citizens.
Building hit by an Israeli attack against Hamas number two, Saleh al-Aruri.
“There is only one possible outcome: a new reality in the northern area, which will allow the safe return of displaced citizens,” Gallant emphasized to Hochstein, who in 2022 brokered a historic agreement between Israel and Lebanon that resolved border disputes long-standing maritime
The meeting, attended by the Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, Herzi Halevi, It occurs shortly before a new tour of the Middle East by the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.which will take him to Israel.
(Keep reading: Aggression between Israel and Hezbollah continues in Lebanon in another day of crossfire).
The Israeli-Lebanese border is experiencing its greatest tension since the war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006following an upsurge in aggression by pro-Palestinian militias the day after the outbreak of war between the Islamist group Hamas and Israel in Gaza on October 7.
Crossfire has become daily, while tension has increased after a deadly attack on Tuesday in Beirut against Saleh al Arour, Hamas' number two.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
That attack has been attributed to Israel – which it neither denied nor confirmed – while the Lebanese Government perceived it as a serious violation of its sovereignty.
Since the beginning of hostilities in the area, at least 177 deaths have been recorded: 13 in Israel -9 soldiers and 4 civilians- and 164 in Lebanon, including 127 members of Hezbollah, 16 members of Palestinian militias, one soldier and 20 civilians -including three journalists and three children-.
(We recommend: Hezbollah launched about 35 rockets towards Israel, the largest attack since the start of the war).
Israel has deployed more than 200,000 troops to its northern border, where violence has also caused the displacement of thousands of inhabitantswith some 80,000 people evacuated from communities in northern Israel and more than 70,000 having fled southern Lebanon.
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, and his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, already agreed this Thursday to work to “avoid an escalation in
Lebanon and Iran” after the attacks recorded in these two Middle Eastern countries.
EFE
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