WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The United States is urgently working to halt hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, a U.S. official said Wednesday, after the Israel Defense Forces unleashed another wave of airstrikes across Lebanon.
“We are in active discussions with Israelis as well as other countries to try to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah,” a U.S. official told NewsNation.
At least 51 people were killed and more than 220 injured in Israeli bombings in Lebanon on Wednesday, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, briefed soldiers its strikes were calculated in order to “degrade” Hezbollah and “prepare” the terrain for a possible ground incursion.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said American diplomats are “tirelessly” trying to persuade the two sides to stand down after fighting along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon continued for the third consecutive day.
“Risk of escalation in the region is acute,” Blinken said during a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council in New York. “The best answer is diplomacy, and our coordinated efforts are vital to preventing further escalation and to paving the path to greater peace and stability.”
Blinken added: “With regard to Lebanon, we’ve been working tirelessly with partners to avoid a full-blown war and to move to a diplomatic process that would allow Israelis and Lebanese alike to go back to their homes.”
President Joe Biden reiterated support for a ceasefire deal, while acknowledging that an “all-out war is possible” in the Middle East.
“An all-out war is possible. But I think there is also the opportunity still in play to have a settlement that could fundamentally change the whole region” the president said during an interview on ABC’s “The View.” “I’m using every bit of energy I have with my team… to get this [ceasefire] done.”
NewsNation is told the diplomatic discussions are not centered on a possible link of a ceasefire with Hezbollah to one for the war in Gaza. The U.S. insists the two conflicts must be dealt with separately.