U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was in Beirut Monday for talks aimed at trying to bring a resolution to the conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border, part of a diplomatic push that is also bringing Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region in search of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
Hochstein told reporters he had a “constructive” meeting with Nabih Berri, the speaker of Lebanon’s parliament, and that while in Lebanon he would speak with members of the government, the military and anyone else who is willing to work on putting the country “on a new course of strength, security, stability, and ultimately, economic prosperity.”
He highlighted U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which was adopted at the end of the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 and includes a call for Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters to the north of Lebanon's Litani River and for Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
Hochstein said nobody made any efforts to implement the resolution, adding that both sides simply committing to implementation is not enough. He repeated that the goal is to build confidence on both sides that the resolution will be carried out, and to make sure the halting of the conflict is done is a way that ensures it will not repeat in a month or a year.
“The people of Lebanon, like everyone in the region, just want to go home, build a peaceful, secure and safe prosperous future for themselves and their families,” Hochstein said.
Blinken is set to depart on his trip Monday, with the State Department saying in a statement that he will “discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
The State Department later said “the humanitarian situation seems to have worsened in northern Gaza. Certainly, nobody in the U.S. government is going to stand in front of you and say that we are satisfied or find the humanitarian situation in any part of Gaza satisfactory.”
“And these are one of the things that we expect the secretary to raise directly and discuss, not just with partners in Israel but other counterpart countries on what more can be done to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. A number of border crossings are open. We are seeing truckloads enter the Gaza Strip and will continue to press for more,” said State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military apologized Monday for killing three Lebanese soldiers in a strike in southern Lebanon
An Israeli military spokesperson said Sunday’s attack hit a vehicle owned by the Lebanese army, and that Israel is not operating against the Lebanese military.
The Lebanese military has not played a part in the conflict, which has escalated during the past month with a widening of Israel’s airstrike campaign and Israeli troops invading southern Lebanon.
Israel says its goal is to push Hezbollah away from border areas in order to allow for the safe return of Israeli citizens to areas in northern Israel.
“Hezbollah has paid and will continue to pay a heavy price for its attacks on northern Israel and its rocket fire,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Monday on X. “We will keep striking the Iranian proxy until it collapses.”
Monday brought continued Israeli airstrikes in Beirut and in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military saying it targeted al-Qard al-Hassan, a Hezbollah-linked financial firm used to pay militants and buy arms, but which is also used by Lebanese civilians for financial services.
The United States has sanctioned al-Qard al-Hassan.
The Israeli campaign in southern Lebanon has also brought complaints from the U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL about Israel’s conduct.
The latest incident included what UNIFIL said was an IDF bulldozer intentionally destroying a UNIFIL observation tower and perimeter fence.
“The IDF has repeatedly demanded that UNIFIL vacate its positions along the Blue Line and has deliberately damaged UN positions,” UNIFIL said in a statement late Sunday. “Despite the pressure being exerted on the mission and our troop-contributing countries, peacekeepers remain in all positions. We will continue to undertake our mandated tasks to monitor and report.”
Iran-backed Hezbollah launched aerial attacks against Israel following the October 2023 attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel. Hamas killed about 1,200 people and captured about 250 others.
Israel’s counteroffensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 42,600 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Gaza. The ministry does not differentiate between militants and civilians in its count.
The United States, United Kingdom, European Union and others have designated Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
