Can Blinken restrain Israel from war with Hezbollah as Lebanon front escalates?

TEL AVIV — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken started his meetings in Israel Tuesday morning on a complicated note, reflecting Israeli skepticism over the possibility of reaching an agreement with Lebanon for Hezbollah to withdraw to the other side of the Litani River.

While Blinken was meeting with Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, the Lebanese National News Agency reported a drone strike that hit a car in the southern village of Ghandouriyeh. While Blinken met with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, alarms sounded across the north of the country, warning of a drone strike from Lebanon. And while he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli military said it was retaliating over the Hezbollah drone that fell at an army base. 

“The last thing the Biden administration needs now is for the northern front to erupt into a regional war, and maybe even beyond,” a Middle East diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. 

Thwarting a blown-out war scenario on Israel’s northern front was only one of the goals set by Blinken on his Middle East tour. The second, was pushing Israel to phase out intensive fighting in Gaza, and moving toward a third stage of the war, namely targeted, precise attacks with less forces on the ground and much less bombardment.