Israeli military sources are pointing to the possibility of a few days of military operations after the attack on the Golan Heights, amid intense diplomatic pressure for Israeli retaliation against Hezbollah to be limited to avoid a regional conflict, Lebanon's foreign minister said last night.
Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah but does not want to drag the region into an all-out war, a top Israeli defense ministry official said, after two Israeli officials said Israel was preparing for the possibility of several days of military operations.
Israel has vowed to respond strongly to an attack attributed to Lebanon's Hezbollah that killed 12 children and youths in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
The Israeli Security Council yesterday authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallad "to decide the manner and timing of the response to the terrorist organization Hezbollah."
In a statement last night on the Al-Jadeed television network, the head of Lebanese diplomacy, Abdullah Bou Habib, assured that the United States, France and other countries are trying to limit the escalation of the war.
"We have received assurances (…) according to which Israel will proceed with a limited escalation and that Hezbollah for its part will respond in a limited way," said Lebanon's foreign minister.
For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati states in a statement that "contacts continue with many international, European and Arab actors to protect Lebanon from dangers."
US President Joe Biden's envoy, Amos Hostein, had a telephone conversation with a series of Lebanese officials over the weekend.
The US, which blamed Hezbollah for the attack on the Golan, is working to reach a diplomatic solution on the border between Israel and Lebanon, the White House announced yesterday.
French President Emmanuel Macron assured the Israeli Prime Minister during a phone call that France is doing everything to avoid a new war escalation in the region.
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah has evacuated all its positions in eastern and southern Lebanon following threats from Israel, according to a source in the group.