US does not support war in Lebanon, working to reschedule Israeli delegation for Washington meetings
“We do not support a war in Lebanon,” White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday, addressing rising tensions in Israel’s North. “We don’t want to see that happen. We’ve been crystal clear about that since the very beginning of this.”
“Restoring calm along that border remains a top priority for President Biden and for the administration, and it has to be of the utmost importance, we believe as well, for both Lebanon and Israel,” he added.
The White House also said it is still working to reschedule its meeting with the Israeli delegation, whom Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled from meeting with the US following its abstention from the United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution vote.
“The tone throughout here has been businesslike, and
it’s been professional, and we expect that it’s going to stay that way. We’re hoping that this meeting can be scheduled in person here in Washington, as was the original plan,” said Kirby. “That’s the plan that we’re still working on now. But again, no final date. And when we get that, we’ll let you
know.”
The White House is still positing that a major ground offensive in Rafah would be a mistake, as it’s a “tight piece of geography,” Kirby said.
“We haven’t and we’re probably not going to agree with the Israelis on every single thing when it comes to their military operations,” Kirby said, “but we both agree on the main important thing, and that is that we can’t allow Hamas to be able to conduct another attack like they did on the seventh of October.”
Kirby’s reassurance that recent disagreements between the US and Israelis leave the US still determined to prevent another Hamas attack on Israel comes after Israeli officials insisted that the US Security Council abstention represents a shift in US policy since October 7, based on the failure of the resolution to tie a ceasefire to the release of hostages. US officials have repeatedly denied that the US abstention represents a policy change.
Kirby told Israeli news channel Kan on Thursday that it was “perplexing and confusing” that over the last few days, the Prime Minister’s Office has been “trying to create this perception of a gap” regarding the US abstention from the Security Council vote. This gap “doesn’t need to exist,” Kirby told Kan.
A bipartisan delegation of US Congress members continued their activities in Israel Thursday, including a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“I want to express my gratitude to all of you for coming to Israel in these dire days and difficult moments. It means a lot to the Israeli people, and I am grateful to you,” Herzog told them.
“We all have to understand that we share the same objectives. We share the objective of eradicating terror, of fighting the empire of evil, which emanates from Tehran and wants to undermine world law and order,” he said.
He added that US President Joe Biden is a “great friend of Israel” and that it was evident how much he cared for Israel when he visited Herzog in Israel less than two years ago.
“We will work together to alleviate and upgrade the humanitarian aid to Gaza, and we will work together endlessly to bring the hostages back home,” he stated.