(Bloomberg) — Israel’s foreign minister warned time’s running short to find a
diplomatic solution to the presence of Hezbollah fighters along the country’s northern
border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group backed by Iran, and Israeli forces have exchanged fire
almost daily since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7. While those skirmishes have
killed scores of people and forced almost 100,000 Israelis and thousands of Lebanese
to evacuate their homes, neither side has escalated its operations.
Israel has said, though, that it’s prepared to open another front with a military attack
on southern Lebanon if Hezbollah doesn’t move back to about 20 miles (32 kilometers)
from the border, as per the terms of a long-standing United Nations resolution.
“Israel will act militarily to return the evacuated citizens to their homes” if Hamas [sic;
he meant Hezbollah] doesn’t comply with the resolution, known as 1701, Foreign
Minister Israel Katz told his French counterpart, Stephane Séjourné, on Monday in
Jerusalem.
Hezbollah has expressed solidarity with Hamas and fired missiles, mortars and rockets
into Israel. The Israeli military has responded with artillery fire and also assassinated
senior Hezbollah figures.
Israeli generals and ministers are confident they would win a two-front war against
Hezbollah and Hamas. But US officials have privately warned them of the sheer strain
such a scenario would place on the country’s resources and economy, with some
describing it as a nightmare scenario for Israel.
Amos Hochstein, a US special envoy often used by President Joe Biden for Israeli and
Lebanese matters, was in Israel over the weekend. He spoke to Defense Minister Yoav
Gallant and other officials about easing tensions and working toward getting Hezbollah
to back away, according to Israeli media.
Hezbollah is the most powerful militia in the Middle East. It has an arsenal of more
than 100,000 rockets and missiles, according to Israeli intelligence estimates, far bigger
than what Hamas could muster before Oct. 7.
