US envoy warns Israel against blowing ‘small things’ out of proportion while maintaining Lebanon ceasefire

US Ambassador Lew cautions Israel against blowing issues out of proportion in trying to maintain the ceasefire with Hezbollah.

“Israel has made clear that it has to be able to defend itself, but they also have to act in a way that doesn’t take small things and turn them into big things,” Lew says.

Since the ceasefire came into effect last week, Israel has carried out a handful of strikes on southern Lebanon at what it has said were Hezbollah targets in violation of the deal’s terms. France and Lebanon have accused Israel of violating the ceasefire with these strikes.

Alongside his subtle critique of Israel, Lew says that “the Government of Lebanon has to increasingly gain control over the things that are causing those responses [from Israel].”

“That’s going to take time, and it’s going to take having days of going through the ups and downs, but [the ceasefire] is holding,” the ambassador continues, adding that the US is now leading a new mechanism in place to ensure that the deal is upheld and that alleged violations are addressed in real time.

Asked about claims from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office that the US had instituted an effective arms embargo against Israel during the war, Lew reiterates the Biden administration’s denial of the accusation, saying the only transfer withheld remains a 2,000-lb bomb shipment that the US has been very public about, due to concerns of their use in densely populated areas.