Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with United States President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv, October 18, 2023. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90
U.S. President Joe Biden said Sunday he would soon talk to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid renewed tensions between their governments in the wake of Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Speaking to reporters, Biden said, “Yes, I will be talking to him, and I’ll tell you what I say to him when I talk to him.”
He emphasized that the U.S. strives to keep the fighting in Lebanon from descending into all-out war across the region.
“We really have to avoid it,” Biden said. “We have already taken precautions relative to our embassies and personnel who want to leave. And, but, we’re not there yet, but we’re working like hell with the French and many others to avoid [more] war.”
The recent tensions were triggered by the IDF’s elimination of Nasrallah while the U.S. and other nations were still engaged in ceasefire talks with Israel.
Biden and several allied nations issued a call for a 21-day ceasefire just days before the Israeli Air Force (IAF) killed Nasrallah in Beirut, with advance notice given to the U.S. just minutes before the strike.
Meanwhile, Israel’s KAN news outlet reported that Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told more than 25 UN member states that Israel would only agree to a ceasefire once its conditions were met.
“Only the full implementation of all the resolutions of the UN Security Council regarding Lebanon will lead to a ceasefire,” Katz was cited as saying.
Most importantly, Katz explained that disarming and pushing Hezbollah north of the Litani River was a condition for any truce.
“For as long as this does not happen, Israel will continue its actions to ensure the security of its citizens, and the return of northern residents to their homes.”
This message was reportedly sent to Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Canada, as well as representatives from nations that have been involved in the ceasefire talks so far, such as France.
U.S. National Security Spokesman John Kirby said, “We’ve been concerned from the beginning that this could widen to become a regional war.”
“We’ve seen the rhetoric coming out of Tehran. We’ll watch and see what they do.”
“The President continues to believe that there needs to be time and space for diplomacy, and that means we’d like to see a ceasefire in place so that diplomacy can breathe.”
Should diplomacy fail, Kirby added, “We’ll make sure that we have the capability to not only defend our troops and our facilities, diplomats and military, as well as Israel itself, if it comes to that. Hopefully it won’t.”
The Pentagon announced on Sunday that the United States “is determined to prevent Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies from exploiting the situation or expanding the conflict.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “made clear that should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every necessary measure to defend our people,” the Pentagon emphasized.
The Pentagon stated that Austin also ordered more American troops to increase their readiness for deployment to the region, without providing further details.
