Israel and Hamas on Tuesday played down chances of an imminent breakthrough in talks for a cease-fire in Gaza, after US President Joe Biden said Israel has agreed to pause its offensive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan if a deal is reached to release some hostages.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
The president's remarks came on the eve of the Michigan primary, where he faces pressure from the state's large Arab American population over his staunch support for Israel's offensive. Biden said he had been briefed on the status of talks by his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, but said his comments reflected his optimism for a deal, not that all the remaining hurdles had been overcome.
Video: The two hostages reunited with their families after daring IDF raid / Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
The United States does not want to see tensions rise further between Israel and Hezbollah, the US State Department said on Tuesday, adding that Israel had assured Washington it wants a diplomatic solution.
Speaking at a daily news briefing, department spokesperson Matthew Miller said tens of thousands of Israelis in the north faced a real security threat which needed to be addressed and Washington was pursuing a diplomatic path to resolve the issue.
"We do not want to see either side escalate the conflict in the north and in fact," Miller said.
Hezbollah said it had launched a volley of rockets at an Israeli aerial surveillance base on Tuesday in response to the Israeli military's deepest attack yet into Lebanese territory, with no immediate reports of casualties from the rockets.
Israeli warplanes struck the Bekaa Valley on Monday in an intensification of the cross-border hostilities that the war in Gaza triggered in October, prompting the Iran-backed group to respond with rocket fire on both Monday and Tuesday.
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon urged all parties to cease hostilities to avoid further escalation, warning that recent events could put a political solution to the conflict at risk.
The peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, said it had seen a "concerning shift" in the exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah and said it was engaging with parties to decrease tensions and prevent dangerous misunderstandings.
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka also urged "de-escalation", saying the "gradual expansion in the exchange of fire" increased the risks of a broader conflagration.
Two sources familiar with Hezbollah's thinking told Reuters the group would halt fire on Israel if its Palestinian ally Hamas agreed to a proposal for a truce with Israel in Gaza – unless Israeli forces keep shelling Lebanon.
The base targeted by Hezbollah on Tuesday was the same one it has struck in previous attacks and there was no other sign so far of wider military retaliation by the group. The IDF launched retaliatory strikes Tuesday after Hezbollah's volley, which included some 20 rockets on Israel. The IDF also confirmed that Hezbollah had managed to hit the general area of the air force base Tuesday. It is used by the Israeli Air Force for monitoring Israeli airspace. The
Israel said it had struck at Hezbollah air defenses in the Bekaa on Monday in response to the downing of an Israeli drone that Hezbollah said it had shot down with a surface-to-air missile. The Israeli strike killed at least two Hezbollah members, Lebanese sources said.
Hezbollah then fired 60 rockets on Monday at an Israeli army station in the Israeli Golan Heights. The group did not say how many rockets were fired on Tuesday morning but said it was a "large volley".
Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said on Monday that Israel's strikes in the Bekaa "will not remain without response".
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that Israel planned to increase attacks on Hezbollah in the event of a possible ceasefire in Gaza "until the full withdrawal of Hezbollah" from the border.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
