In Israel, US envoy Hochstein struggles to defuse tension with Lebanon's Hezbollah

Senior White House aide Amos Hochstein received pushback from the Israeli leadership on Thursday in his mission to de-escalate mounting tension with Hezbollah on the northern border, which US officials fear could lead to a full-blown war. 

The visit, planned weeks ahead, came two days after Hamas senior official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh in an aerial attack attributed to Israel and hours after an Israeli strike on Wednesday night killed Hezbollah commander Hussein Yazbek.

The escalation on the border has reached its highest point since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war and has seen both sides strike deeper into Lebanese and Israeli territory. The tit-for-tat attacks have heightened concerns in Washington of a repeat of the 2006 war. 

Hochstein’s second trip to Israel since the Israel-Hamas war started was primarily aimed at restoring calm on the Israel-Lebanon border. But after a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel struck a defiant tone. “Bringing our citizens in the north and in the south back to their homes is part of the goals of the goal, and we will reach it either diplomatically or militarily,” Netanyahu said.