U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein met with leaders in Lebanon on Monday about Israel’s war against Hezbollah.
Hochstein, who has traveled to the Middle East several times since the conflict erupted in the region last October, told reporters in Beirut that an agreement to end the war would be based upon the United Nations Security Council resolution that ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war nearly two decades ago but was never fully implemented.
“We’re going to have a substantive conversation with the Government of Lebanon, with the Government of Israel, about how best to bring about a cessation of hostilities to end this conflict,” Hochstein said.
He met with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 ended the monthlong Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006. It called for both Israeli forces and Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon, with the Israeli forces withdrawing back to Israel and Hezbollah moving north of the Litani River. This would, in effect, separate the two by about 17 miles. However, Hezbollah never left the area.
“The commitment that we have is to resolve this conflict based on 1701. That is what the solution is going to have to look like,” Hochstein said. “To do that, we have to make sure that all sides of this conflict know that it’s 1701 is actually going to be implemented. As I just said before, there is no one who could look at the last 18 years and say that anyone did anything to implement 1701.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also in the Middle East this week, where he’ll be meeting with regional leaders to discuss ending the conflicts.
“The Secretary will also discuss the need to reach a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Israel and [Hezbollah] that fully implements UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and allows civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return to their homes,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. “He will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to work with partners across the region to de-escalate tensions and provide lasting stability.”
This iteration of Israel and Hezbollah’s fighting commenced last October following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that left roughly 1,200 people dead. The U.S.-designated terrorist group also kidnapped about 250 other people.
For about eleven months, the two sides have fired rockets, missiles, and drones over the border, forcing civilians in both southern Lebanon and northern Israel to evacuate from their homes. While both sides have occasionally hit targets further into the other country, the conflict was relatively contained to cross-border fires until early September, when Israeli forces significantly escalated their attacks on Hezbollah’s leadership and its arsenal.
Israeli forces carried out a “wide-scale” attack targeting Hezbollah’s “financial infrastructure in Beirut and across Lebanon last night,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Monday. “Massive fires were seen above Beirut as over 15 buildings were struck following evacuation warnings to residents.”
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“Hezbollah has paid and will continue to pay a heavy price for its attacks on northern Israel and its rocket fire. We will keep striking the Iranian proxy until it collapses,” he added.
Over the weekend, a Hezbollah drone was not intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems, and it crashed into the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was not there at the time.