The American ambassador to hold talks to end the war in Lebanon; Israel targets Hezbollah shadow bank By Reuters
Written by Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily
BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S. Ambassador Amos Hochstein will hold talks with Lebanese officials in Beirut on Monday under the conditions of an end to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and Israel has slammed branches in Lebanon for what it describes as Hezbollah's shadow.
Diplomacy has failed to cool Israel's conflicts with its two most dangerous and heavily armed enemies – Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Gaza Strip – now in their second year.
Washington is hoping for a new push for peace in the Middle East following Israel's killing last week of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and the mastermind of attacks on Israeli cities last year that sparked Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip.
US officials are seeking a deal in Lebanon, where Israel launched an operation last month and killed most of the top leadership of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia that says it is fighting Israel on behalf of the Palestinians.
Overnight, Israel attacked sites in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley, targeting branches of another banking system that Israel says is run by Hezbollah to finance its activities. Hundreds of families fled from houses near these areas before the strikes, although no casualties were reported.
Reuters saw black smoke billowing into the air after at least 10 explosions in Beirut suburbs. Panicked mobs blocked roads and caused traffic jams in other parts of the city as they tried to move to what was thought to be safer.
“Strike, strike, strike with planes and non-cooperative planes, and we don't know who they are targeting and who will die every day,” said Micheline Jabbour, who works at a pastry shop in Beirut.
The Israeli military said before its overnight raid it had targeted the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, an alternative to the Lebanese banking system the US says is used by Iran-backed Hezbollah to manage its funds.
The organization has more than 30 branches throughout Lebanon, including 15 in the densely populated areas of central Beirut and its suburbs.
There was no immediate statement from the organization, Hezbollah or the Lebanese government.
US Ambassador Hochstein is expected to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday. Berri told Al-Arabiya broadcaster over the weekend that Hochstein's visit was “the last chance before the US election” to reach an agreement. But Berri said he would reject any changes to the accord that ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Residents of Beirut said they had little expectation that the US official's visit would bring success.
“It's all a waste of time. Will he be able to get rid of Hezbollah's weapons? Hochstein? He won't be able to do anything,” said Tony Rawandos, 61, who owns an auto repair shop.
Israel's military has not slowed down its offensive and is preparing to retaliate against Iran's missile attack earlier this month, despite Washington pressuring it not to hit Iran's energy facilities or nuclear facilities.
Iran has complained to the UN nuclear weapons body about Israel's threats to its nuclear facilities, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday at a weekly press conference.
The US military has accelerated its advanced anti-missile defense system in Israel, which is now in place, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on a trip to Kyiv.
Austin declined to say whether the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system is operational. But he added: “We have the ability to implement it very quickly and meet our expectations.”
THE CONDITIONS OF ISRAEL
Israel's campaign in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. It says its aim is to expel Hezbollah fighters from the border region so that tens of thousands of Israelis can return to their homes forced to flee in the past year from Hezbollah's cross-border fire in cooperation with the Palestinians.
Israel has offered the United States a document containing its terms for a political solution to end the war in Lebanon, Axios reported Sunday, citing two American and two Israeli officials.
Israel wants its forces to be allowed to “enforce the law” to ensure that Hezbollah does not return near the border, and wants its air force to have the freedom to operate in Lebanese airspace, Axios reported, citing an Israeli official.
A US official told Axios that Lebanon and the international community are unlikely to agree to Israel's terms.
Politicians and other sources in the region say that Israel wants to hurt its enemies now, in order to create a new reality that cannot be reversed in the region before the new American president takes office in January.
Hamas-led forces killed 1,200 people and captured 250 during Israel's October 7 offensive last year that sparked the war in Gaza, according to Israeli figures. The Israeli military response to Gaza has killed more than 42,500 Palestinians and devastated the area.
Last year, Lebanese officials estimated that more than 2,400 people had been killed. 59 people were killed in northern Israel and the Golan Heights during the same period, Israeli authorities said.
