President Biden says his administration is doing ‘everything we can’ to prevent full-scale war on Israel – Lebanon frontier from breaking out, as tensions rise between Israel and Hezbollah.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
President Joe Biden said Sunday his administration is making every effort to prevent the escalation of tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist group into a full-scale war, following a massive wave of Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel and IDF reprisals on Hezbollah positions.
Speaking with reporters on the White House South Lawn Sunday, Biden said that following last week’s targeted bombings of Hezbollah members and the barrages of rocket fire by the Iranian-backed group over the weekend, the U.S. is “pushing hard” to prevent the outbreak of a broader war.
“We’re going to do everything we can to keep a wider war from breaking out. And we’re still pushing hard,” Biden said.
On Sunday, U.S. officials expressed concern to Axios‘ Barak Ravid regarding Israel’s attempt at “de-escalation through escalation” with Hezbollah, saying it would require “extremely difficult calibration” that could end up sparking an all-out war.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, thousands of pagers and hand-held radios issued by Hezbollah to its operatives detonated simultaneously, killing dozens and injuring thousands.
While Israel has yet to confirm its role in the attacks, the bombings are thought to have been carried out by the Mossad.
On Friday, IDF warplanes bombed a Hezbollah position in Beirut, killing 16 members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, including two of its commanders, Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wehbe.
Over the weekend Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog, said the strike was carried out after intelligence was obtained pointing to an impending October-7th style invasion of northern Israel by the Radwan Force.
Tensions continued to mount Saturday, with Hezbollah unleashing a massive barrage of hundreds of rockets and missiles, with attacks beginning Saturday night and running through Sunday morning.
The IDF responded to the attacks, with artillery fire and targeted airstrikes.
On Monday, Israeli forces bombed multiple Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, after warning locals to seek shelter.