The Biden administration has cautioned Israel in recent weeks against the notion of "a limited war" in Lebanon and warned it could push Iran to intervene, two U.S. officials and one Israeli official told Axios.
The exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah that has been ongoing since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas dramatically escalated in the last two weeks, prompting some people inside the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Cabinet to call for significantly expanding the fighting against Hezbollah.
U.S. and Israeli officials said there is growing concern in the IDF and the Israeli Ministry of Defense that the situation in Lebanon is reaching a turning point.
The U.S. and France have been trying to find a diplomatic solution to reduce tensions at the border but haven't made progress yet.Preventing an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah that could lead to wide-ranging destruction in Lebanon and Israel has been a key objective for the Biden administration in its efforts to prevent the fighting in Gaza from expanding into a much wider regional conflict.
The Biden administration believes it will be impossible to restore calm to the Israeli-Lebanese border without a ceasefire in Gaza.
