President Biden got on a 45-minute phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu following the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas. During the call, Biden urged Netanyahu to stand down from launching strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon. This comes amid ongoing efforts from inside the White House to de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East.
By Martha Williams For Dailymail.Com
Published: 13:58 EST, 23 December 2023 | Updated: 14:00 EST, 23 December 2023
President Biden got on a 45-minute call with Netanyahu to convince him to stand down from launching strikes on Hezbollah days after the October 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas. According to sources familiar with the phone call, Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abort Israel’s mission to strike against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
The pre-emptive strike was set to take place in the days after Hamas launched a terror attack at the Supernova music festival in Israel. Israeli warplanes were in the air and ready to go when Biden spoke to Netanyahu on October 11.
Biden pleaded with the Prime Minister to think about the consequences of the drastic action – and his convincing worked because the attack did not go ahead. The phone call was kept confidential until now, but it set a pattern for US efforts to de-escalate conflict in the Middle East.
The White House has been relentlessly trying to prevent the expansion of the ongoing war along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Israeli forces engage in warfare with Hezbollah fighters and Palestinian militants along the border on a daily basis.
The Biden Administration’s efforts to de-escalate the conflict in October included sending two aircraft carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean, followed by a nuclear submarine.
Biden and his administration received a heads up about Israel’s plan to launch a pre-emptive strike on the morning of October 11. Israeli forces urgently notified the White House that they believed Hezbollah was going to attack and Israel begged for American support.
Efforts to ease tensions at the Israeli-Lebanese border were being led by Amos Hochstein, an American-Israeli businessman, diplomat, and lobbyist, who has been bouncing between Washington, Beirut, and Jerusalem to end the fighting diplomatically.
In addition, the French government has been involved in peace efforts, pushing Lebanon to abide by UN Security Council resolution 1701, which calls for Hezbollah to pull their forces out of Southern Lebanon and remove themselves at least 18 miles from Israel’s border.
The ongoing conflict has seen Lebanese militia launch at least 200 hits on Israel, resulting in 10 deaths, including seven soldiers. In response, Israel has launched almost 1,000 strikes inside southern Lebanon, killing over 120 Hezbollah soldiers and 10 Lebanese civilians.
Israel has continued to threaten Hezbollah with more intense attacks on Lebanon if their soldiers do not stand down. It was reported that Israel was planning to invade Lebanon to push Hezbollah back from its northern border.
After weeks of exchanging cross-border fire, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are said to be keen to launch a ground offensive into southern Lebanon. Share or comment on this article: President Biden convinced Netanyahu to abort Israeli preemptive strike on Hezbollah in an effort to prevent all-out Middle East war based on ‘unreliable’ intel days after October 7 attacks.