Amid the ongoing daily confrontations since last October between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, fears are rising within the US administration of a possible Israeli ground incursion into Lebanese territory during the coming weeks or months.
Senior officials in the US administration and officials familiar with intelligence information revealed that the administration of US President Joe Biden and intelligence officials are concerned about Israeli plans for a ground incursion into Lebanon that could begin in the coming months if diplomatic efforts fail to push Hezbollah to retreat from Israel’s northern border.
An informed American official said that the possible Israeli incursion may take place early next summer.
Clear possibility
He also pointed out that “the administration is working on the assumption that an Israeli military operation will occur in the coming months.” He added, “The incursion will not necessarily happen during the next few weeks, but perhaps later this spring.”
In addition, he added that an Israeli military operation had become a clear possibility.
While a final Israeli decision has not yet been made, serious concern about such a move has made its way into the intelligence briefings of senior administration officials, as a knowledgeable person explained to CNN on Thursday.
This information came after the United States called last Tuesday to focus on diplomacy to find a solution to the military escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, after Israel warned that it would continue to pursue Hezbollah. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “We do not want to see either side escalating the conflict in the north,” adding that “the Israeli government has confirmed to Washington in particular that it wants to achieve a diplomatic path,” she said.
Hezbollah had repeatedly confirmed that what it called the “axis of resistance” in reference to groups and factions loyal to Iran in the region would continue to support Hamas, in implementation of what is known as unifying arenas or fronts.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials, especially Defense Minister Yoav Galant, vowed to continue striking and pursuing Hezbollah, even if a ceasefire was agreed upon in Gaza.
It is noteworthy that since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, following the attack launched by Hamas on Israeli settlements and military bases in the Gaza envelope, the escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border has caused the death of at least 286 people, including 197 Hezbollah fighters, 44 civilians, and 24 civilians. Palestinian fighters, 10 of them from Hamas.
It also forced about 80,000 Israelis and about 75,000 Lebanese to evacuate their homes from the border areas on both sides.
