'Resolution in Gaza will help diplomatic solution for Lebanon,' US envoy declares in Beirut

U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, visited Lebanon on Wednesday to continue his months-long efforts at resolving the tensions with Israel, caused by Hezbollah’s incessant attacks since last October, and prevent a looming full-scale war.

At a press briefing in Beirut on Wednesday, Hochstein emphasized the importance of Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization reaching a truce in the Gaza War to alleviate tensions in northern Israel.

“President Joe Biden is working on this issue and asked me to come to Lebanon ahead of the discussions set to resume this Thursday between Hamas and Israel,” Hochstein said.

Both agreed that “there is no more time to waste and there’s no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay,” he added.

Hezbollah leaders have declared several times in recent months that they would only stop launching attacks on Israel when a ceasefire in Gaza was reached.

“A resolution in Gaza will help find a diplomatic solution for Lebanon, prevent a larger war, and create the conditions needed for the return of displaced Lebanese to the south and residents of northern Israel to their homes,” Hochstein said.

“We must seize this moment to find a diplomatic solution. The time is now.”

On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he believes a ceasefire deal could stave off an Iranian attack against Israel. “That's my expectation,” Biden said while admitting that reaching a ceasefire deal was “getting harder” but he was “not giving up.” 

During his visit, Hochstein met Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, several members of parliament, as well as Speaker Nabih Berri of the Amal Party, who is serving as the main mediator with the Hezbollah terrorist group.

Like Hezbollah, Amal is a movement of Shia Muslims and is allied with the terror group. Several of its gunmen have been killed alongside Hezbollah terrorists by Israeli airstrikes in recent months.

Hochstein noted that “hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel have continued to escalate since my last visit,” which was two months ago.

“The Speaker and I had a productive discussion about the situation in Lebanon and the need to calm tensions along the Blue Line and in the region. The more time goes by of escalated tensions… the more the odds and the chances go up for accidents, for mistakes, for inadvertent targets to be hit that could easily cause escalation that gets out of control,” Hochstein warned.

“We continue to believe that a diplomatic resolution is achievable because we continue to believe that no one truly wants a full-scale war between Lebanon and Israel.”

When asked whether he thought an all-out war could be avoided, he replied: “I hope so, I believe so.”

Ahead of Hochstein’s arrival, Lebanese politicians and media outlets expressed significant skepticism regarding the prospects of his visit, which came just before the high-level hostage deal summit began in Qatar on Thursday.

“It would have been better if he had come after Thursday so that we could see what the results of the round of negotiations regarding Gaza are,” Berri said, referring to Hochstein.

A Lebanese diplomatic source told the al-Jumhurriya newspaper that Hochstein’s role can be compared to Israel’s Iron Dome Defense System.

“His presence today will ensure that Hezbollah abandons the idea of ​​reacting now and will reduce the intensity of the retaliation [for the killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr] if it decides to react later.”

The newspaper al-Akhbar, which is seen as aligned with Hezbollah, reported that pro-Iranian officials cast doubt on the Biden administration’s commitment to successfully advancing the negotiations with both Hamas and Hezbollah.

Diplomatic sources told the newspaper that the United States was only trying to buy time to deliver as much aid as possible to Israel, in case Iran and Hezbollah decided to attack.

Al-Akhbar also published a report headlined, “Don’t welcome the Israeli mediator,” in a reference to Hochstein, who was born in Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces before emigrating to the U.S.

The newspaper also claimed Hochstein had assured Lebanon that Israel would not strike Beirut’s southern suburbs before the assassination of Shukr.