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Washington:
US President Joe Biden called for a ceasefire in Lebanon on Monday, but a US official said the deployment of Israeli troops suggested a ground attack against Hezbollah militants could be imminent.
Asked about reports that Israeli ground troops were preparing to move into southern Lebanon, Biden told reporters he was “satisfied with their (Israeli) standoff.”
Several top aides bolstered Biden’s call for a ceasefire by pushing for a diplomatic resolution against the violence to allow tens of thousands of displaced Israelis and Lebanese to return to their homes along the border.
Secretary of State Anthony Blanken told a State Department conference that Washington “will continue to work with our partners in the region and around the world to advance a diplomatic solution.”
But a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the positioning of Israeli troops as observed by the U.S. suggests a ground incursion into Lebanon is likely.
The official declined to comment further or provide details about the posture of Israeli forces.
The US has called for a de-escalation after two weeks of Israeli airstrikes and the killing of Hezbollah commanders, including the Iran-backed group’s leader Seyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli officials say they will do what it takes to return nearly 70,000 civilians evacuated from northern Israeli communities on October 8 after Hezbollah launched rocket attacks from Gaza in support of Hamas’s attack on Israel. will do
Speaking to soldiers stationed on Israel’s northern border, Defense Minister Yves Gallant hinted at a ground incursion.
“We will use all means that may be needed – your forces, other forces, by air, by sea and on land. Good luck,” Gallant said.
The Biden administration fears that Nasrallah’s death and further Israeli military action could ignite a wider regional conflict.
The US envoy to the United Nations called for continued diplomacy to end violence in Lebanon and Gaza.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield told reporters that “we want to find a way to peace, so that the Palestinians and Israelis have security and the Lebanese and Israelis living on the northern border also have security and safety”.
(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
