Kehinde Fajobi
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein held talks with Lebanese officials in Beirut on Monday, aiming to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
This followed Israeli airstrikes on branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, which Israel claims finances Hezbollah operations. The strikes targeted Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley, forcing hundreds of families to flee, though no casualties were immediately reported.
The Israeli military stated that they struck 15 missile launchers in southern Lebanon, aimed at Israeli settlements.
“Strike, strike, strike with planes and drones, and we don’t know who they are targeting and who will die each day,” said Micheline Jabbour, a Beirut resident.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, reiterated his support for U.N. Resolution 1701 but hinted at “new understandings” to implement it.
The resolution, adopted in 2006, mandates a U.N. peacekeeping mission to maintain a buffer zone on Lebanon’s southern border.
Hochstein met with Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.
Berri described the U.S. envoy’s visit as “the last chance before the U.S. elections” to reach a truce.
However, many Lebanese remain sceptical of diplomatic breakthroughs.
The Israeli military’s campaign has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel claims its goal is to remove Hezbollah from the border area to allow Israelis to return to their homes, from which they have been displaced by cross-border fire over the last year.
U.S. officials are also working to prevent Israel from escalating the conflict further by retaliating against Iran for an earlier missile barrage.