US ENVOY LANDS IN LEBANON AS TRUCE PRESSURE MOUNTS
▶ Talks continue in Cairo as mediators push Israel and Hamas to reach terms on key sticking points
The US has increased pressure on Israel to agree to a truce in Gaza and southern Lebanon, but several obstacles remain in the path to an agreement.
The White House has urged Israel to be more flexible in talks with Hamas, while US envoy Amos Hochstein visited Beirut yesterday in a bid to halt clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.
“The diplomatic solution is the only way out,” Mr Hochstein said after talks with Lebanese political leaders.
Meanwhile, weeks of negotiations mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar have not yet yielded a formula for a truce in Gaza that both Israel and Hamas deem acceptable, as they remain divided on key issues such as the duration of the pause and the release of high-profile Palestinian detainees.
While the US works to convince Israel, Egypt and Qatar are applying similar pressure on Hamas, sources told The National after the latest talks in Cairo, which began on Sunday and continued yesterday.
“The Americans are now doing everything possible to get a truce agreed,” said one of the sources. “The next step will be for America to announce a ceasefire and find the means to force both sides to observe it.” The US is Israel’s most important ally and provides billions of dollars in military aid to the country.
While the US administration of President Joe Biden has voiced support for Israel’s campaign in Gaza, in recent weeks it seems to have run out of patience after rounds of talks failed to secure a deal by the start of Ramadan next week.
The already volatile situation across the region is at risk of exploding if the fighting continues into the holy month, especially if the Israeli government acquiesces to demands from far-right ministers to limit Muslims’ access to Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Prayer at the mosque is deeply
important to Muslims, especially during Ramadan, and measures taken by Israeli police to restrict access to the site have led to violence on several occasions.
US Vice President Kamala Harris set out Washington’s position on Sunday, urging Hamas to accept a deal while calling on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire,” said Ms Harris.
“People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act … the Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses.”
Her comments were some of the strongest to date by a senior member of the Biden administration.
Ms Harris also hosted Israeli
war cabinet member and former general Benny Gantz for talks yesterday. Mr Gantz leads the centrist National Unity Party and has long been seen as a rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
His trip, which was not authorised by Mr Netanyahu’s government, is said to have infuriated the Prime Minister.
After landing in Beirut yesterday, Mr Hochstein held meetings with senior politicians such as Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, whose Amal Movement is allied with Hezbollah.
Mr Hochstein’s visit comes amid an escalation in cross-border clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.
Yesterday, Hezbollah announced that it had thwarted an attempted infiltration by Israeli troops on Sunday night, while Israel’s ambulance service reported that a foreign worker was killed and seven injured when an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit northern Israel.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has sought to maintain a second front to divert Israeli resources from Gaza while avoiding a full-scale war. The militia has repeatedly said an end to the clashes depends on a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
“There is no such thing as a limited war,” Mr Hochstein said, warning that “any truce in Gaza will not necessarily extend automatically to Lebanon”.
Israel has threatened a fullscale military operation to force Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River.
Israel says it aims to ensure that its citizens can return home to regions near the border, having been evacuated during the fighting. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes on both sides of the frontier.
But escalation “will not help the Lebanese or the Israelis return to their homes”, Mr Hochstein said.