From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 4, 2024
US dispatching senior envoy Hochstein to cool simmering tensions on Lebanon border
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Amos Hochstein, US President Joe Biden’s special envoy, is set to arrive in Israel tomorrow, a senior Biden administration official says, as the US intensifies its diplomatic engagement to lower tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israeli officials plan to tell Hochstein that without a diplomatic agreement in place to shove Hezbollah away from the border, it won’t be able to return residents to northern towns, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
According to a report in Ynet earlier this week, Israel is hoping the agreement will lead to talks on setting an official border between the countries, which have only a ceasefire line and technically remain in a state of war.
Hochstein was heavily involved in shepherding talks that culminated in Israel and Lebanon demarcating a maritime border in 2022.
A senior Biden administration official briefing reporters says he just met with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and that the US has a “diplomatic effort underway to help resolve some of the tension” between Israel and Hezbollah, without elaborating further.
The Times of Israel Community.