US Urges Swift Resolution to Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

US calls for a halt to Israel-Hezbollah conflict as violence intensifies and civilian casualties rise

BEIRUT:
The United States on Monday called for an immediate resolution to the Israel-Hezbollah war, pushing for the enforcement of a UN resolution requiring Iran-backed Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

This appeal from Israel’s key ally came as Israeli forces ramped up their nearly month-long military campaign in Lebanon, including strikes on a Hezbollah-linked financial entity, while also continuing its relentless attacks on Gaza, more than a year into the conflict.

During a visit to Beirut, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein stressed Washington’s desire for the fighting in Lebanon to end “as soon as possible.” He remarked, “Tying Lebanon’s future to other regional conflicts has never been in the best interest of the Lebanese people,” referencing Hezbollah’s insistence that any ceasefire in Lebanon must be linked to halting the Gaza war.

Hochstein also emphasized that while UN Security Council Resolution 1701—which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict—should form the basis of a new ceasefire, it has not been fully implemented. The resolution mandates that only the Lebanese military and UN peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL) should be deployed south of Lebanon’s Litani River, near the Israeli border. Despite this, Hezbollah has maintained its presence in the area and began launching cross-border strikes into Israel last year to support Hamas.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel on Tuesday to renew efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, amid growing fears of the conflict expanding further.

Israel has vowed to retaliate against an Iranian missile strike on October 1—an act of retaliation for the assassination of senior militants. As tensions escalate, Israeli police announced the arrest of seven citizens accused of spying for Iran, allegedly collecting intelligence on military bases and energy infrastructure.

In Syria, two civilians were reported killed on Monday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a diplomatic district in Damascus.

Israel has expanded its military campaign from Gaza to Lebanon, with a goal of neutralizing Hezbollah’s threat and securing its northern border to enable the return of those displaced by rocket attacks. On Monday, Lebanon’s health ministry reported that an Israeli strike on a building in Baalbek killed six people, including a child.

Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said Israeli forces had struck around 30 sites linked to Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a Hezbollah-affiliated financial organization that Israel accuses of funding the group’s arms acquisition.

The UN Human Rights Office condemned the strikes, stating they caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure. According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, Israeli forces destroyed homes in the border village of Aita al-Shaab, leading to heavy clashes as Hezbollah retaliated by firing rockets at Israeli troops in the area.

In nearly a month of full-scale warfare, at least 1,470 people in Lebanon have been killed, according to Lebanese health ministry figures. In Gaza, the war—which was sparked by Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7 last year—has led to 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli data. Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed 42,603 people, primarily civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which the UN considers reliable.