The United States is urging Israel and Hezbollah to de-escalate and reach a peaceful resolution but is preparing for even further escalations in the near future.
Israel began signaling in July that it was shifting its focus to its northern border with Lebanon, but the conflict reached new heights last week when it caused thousands of Hezbollah casualties by simultaneously detonating thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group. It followed up with airstrikes on missile sites and meetings of its leadership, while Hezbollah has fired barrages into Israel.
On Sunday, Hezbollah targeted the Israeli city of Haifa, marking its furthest barrage into Israel yet.
Amid the rising tension, the U.S. has signaled that the consequences of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah would be disastrous. Top U.S. officials have been in close contact with their counterparts, attempting to manage the situation.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan admitted the seriousness of the situation on Saturday, saying there is “a real and acute” danger of an all-out war breaking out between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has repeatedly insisted that the only way there could be a ceasefire is if the war in Gaza ended. Speaking in an interview with ABC News’s This Week, national security spokesman John Kirby admitted that ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel had met an impasse.
He also said, “Tensions are much higher now than they were even just a few days ago,” but that the U.S. was doing “everything we can to try to prevent this from becoming an all-out war.”
Top officials from the United Kingdom and European Union issued statements warning of the catastrophic consequences for civilians in the event of war and urged de-escalation.
“Civilians on both sides are paying a high price. They will also be the ones suffering once again the most in a full-blown war that must be averted, including by renewed intense diplomatic mediation efforts,” top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said. “This will be high on our agenda at UN General Assembly.”
The United Nations has been similarly sounding the alarm.
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“With the region on the brink of an imminent catastrophe, it cannot be overstated enough: there is NO military solution that will make either side safer,” special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis said.
Israel has insisted that its moves aren’t meant to escalate the situation to war, but rather its strategy is “de-escalation through escalation.” U.S. officials told Axios that they agree with Israel’s calculus, but that it’s an “extremely difficult calibration” that could easily spiral out of control.