President Biden convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the last minute to reject a planned attack on Hezbollah days after the October 7 massacre over fears it would trigger a region-wide war, according to a new report.
Israel reportedly had fighter jets awaiting orders to attack the Lebanese terrorist group by attacking its forces along the Lebanese border on October 11 when Biden spoke to Netanyahu about the consequences of such a preemptive strike, given that US intelligence found no evidence of an imminent Hezbollah invasion. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
Israeli officials were said to be on edge following the Hamas massacre of more than 1,200 people in Israel on October 7, and the country’s own intelligence network suggested that a repeat of the attack was imminent by the terrorists’ allies. Palestinians in Lebanon.
But Biden reportedly convinced Netanyahu and his war cabinet to take a more reserved approach rather than risk all-out war in both Gaza and Lebanon, sources told the Journal.
The United States learned of Israel’s alleged plot against Hezbollah after the Jewish state sought support from American officials to stop Hezbollah’s alleged invasion.
President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet a week after their October 11 phone call about a possible Hezbollah attack. via REUTERS Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon on Wednesday. Via REUTERS
Biden’s call with Israeli officials on the issue lasted 45 minutes, as he attempted to warn them about the consequences of a preemptive strike based on conflicting reports. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had reportedly pushed for the strike to be approved as “a broader war was inevitable,” the sources claimed.
With emergency sirens sounding in Israel and the Israel Defense Forces ordered to prepare for an attack on Lebanon, it took about six hours for Netanyahu and his war cabinet to agree to call off the attack, according to the newspaper.
But Netanyahu on Sunday denied claims that Biden convinced him not to attack Hezbollah, saying Israel makes its own decisions and is not influenced by the advice of foreign nations.
Conflicts and tensions remain heated between Israel and Hezbollah, as supporters of the terrorist group hold parades in support of Palestinian Hamas terrorists. Getty Images One man is injured in rocket fire between the IDF and Hezbollah. Xinhua/Shutterstock
“I have seen erroneous reports that the United States prevented us, and is preventing us, from carrying out operational actions in the region. This is incorrect. “Israel is a sovereign state,” Netanyahu said. “Our decisions in war are based on our operational considerations.
“They are not dictated by external pressures. The decision on how to use our forces is an independent decision of the Israel Defense Forces and no one else,” he added.
The prime minister’s office said in a statement that Israel’s plan has always been to achieve victory against Hamas in the south while working on “fierce deterrence in the north” against Hezbollah.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment on Sunday.
President Biden has repeatedly called on Israel to avoid a region-wide war as it fights Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. AP
Since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas, the United States has been working to avoid the same outcome between the Jewish state and its northern neighbor, even as the IDF and Hezbollah exchange rocket fire almost daily.
The Iran-backed terrorist group, which operates in Lebanon, has vowed to continue its attacks on Israel over the IDF bombings and ground invasion of Gaza.
On Saturday, Israel announced that it had struck several Hezbollah-linked targets along the border with Lebanon, a day after the terrorist group killed an IDF soldier in the heated conflicts.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn