U.S. cautions Israel over escalation with Hezbollah after weekend attack

Published 3:37 pm Monday, July 29, 2024

The United States on Monday cautioned Israel about escalation with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah as Israel weighs its response to a rocket attack from Lebanon over the weekend that killed 12 youths in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights.

The attack increased concerns about a wider regional conflict, even as Hezbollah in a rare move denied having a role. Cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has occurred almost daily since the war with Hamas in Gaza began in October. On Monday, Israeli strikes killed two people on a motorcycle and injured three others in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s state-run news agency said. Israeli military officials said they struck Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure.

An official with a Lebanese group told The Associated Press that Hezbollah has started moving precision-guided missiles but doesn’t want a full-blown war with Israel. Hezbollah has far superior firepower than Hamas, and analysts have said that igniting a war in Israel’s north while it’s engaged in Gaza would overburden the military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of the rocket attack on Monday, saying that “our response will come, and it will be severe.” But some residents of the Druze village protested by tossing his wreath aside and saying the tragedy shouldn’t be used for political purposes.