Amos Hochstein, senior adviser to the president of the United of the United States, Joe Biden, met with officials in Beirut on Tuesday in an attempt to find a diplomatic solution to prevent a larger war, the Associated Press reports, as quoted by News.bg.
Cross-border attacks by Israel and the Lebanese armed group "Hezbollah" have been carried out almost daily since the war in Gaza began in October and escalated dramatically a week ago after Israel killed a senior commander of "Hezbollah" in a strike against southern Lebanon.
A senior adviser to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, described the ongoing conflict between the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israeli forces on the border between Lebanon and Israel as "a very serious situation" and said Tuesday during a visit to Beirut that efforts to find a diplomatic solution to prevent a larger war were urgent.
Amos Hochstein met with officials in Lebanon after visiting Israel the previous day.
"We have seen an escalation in the last few weeks,", Hochstein told reporters in Beirut after a meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who often acts as a conduit between Washington and "Hezbollah".
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"What President Biden wants to do is avoid further escalation into a bigger war."
Hochstein also called on the Palestinian armed group "Hamas" to accept Washington's proposed cease-fire and hostage-exchange deal to end the war in Gaza, which it says could also end the conflict in Lebanon.
The fighting has displaced tens of thousands on each side of the border. Israeli airstrikes over Lebanon have killed more than 400 people since October, most of them Hezbollah fighters. and allied groups, but the dead also included more than 80 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 16 soldiers and 11 civilians were killed.
Meanwhile, Israel's Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on a law that gives far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir power over the police.
Ben-Gvir has been convicted eight times of crimes, which include racism and supporting a Jewish terrorist organization. As national security minister, he encouraged the police to take a tough stance against anti-government protesters and actively supported officials accused of using excessive force against Palestinians.
Israeli officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved his powerful military cabinet tasked with leading the war in Gaza, a week after Benny Gantz, a popular opposition lawmaker and former military chief, left Netanyahu's three-member ruling coalition in frustration with how the war was being handled.