US holding back Israel from strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israeli government has come under growing pressure from security establishment hawks to launch a pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah

Jerusalem: The Israeli government has come under growing pressure from security establishment hawks to launch a pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

However, it is also facing strong opposition from the US not to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon, which fears a two-front war will risk igniting a major regional conflict, The Guardian reported.

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“We want to focus on the Gaza arena, and to finish the job there. On the other hand, we are getting a lot of pressure from the Israeli population in the north,” a senior Israeli security official told the Observer.

“People are saying, we cannot live on the northern border, with Hezbollah less than 100 metres from us and that can cross the line in a few minutes and slaughter us,” The Guardian reported.

Since Israel struck back at Gaza after the Hamas attack on 7 October, the Lebanese-based Islamist militia group has repeatedly fired on Israeli settlements, leading to an Israeli evacuation of the northern border, including the town of Kiryat Shmona.

The threat of a major Hezbollah offensive led to calls from hawks for a strike at its sizeable arsenal of missiles.

President Biden used his time in Tel Aviv and visits by top US defence officials in the days before, to urge the Israeli leadership not to risk such a pre-emptive strike on the Iran-backed militia, the New York Times reported, and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ultimately cooled on the idea.