US warns Israel: Strikes may lead to war

The US warned Israel days before its strikes on the facilities of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah that such actions could lead to war in the region, the Politico newspaper reported citing unnamed US and Israeli officials, News.Az reports.

According to them, the US expressed the opinion that a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Hezbollah is still achievable, but the start of a military campaign could seriously undermine efforts to de-escalate the situation. The Israeli leadership, in turn, did not reject Washington's calls for a peaceful solution, but disagreed with the US position on how to achieve it. One of the publication's sources notes that the Israeli authorities told the US that the time has come to "escalate to de-escalate," meaning strikes on Hezbollah facilities in order to force the movement to participate in negotiations.

According to Politico, this was the first time in almost a year that the US and Israel "so starkly disagreed" on further strategy toward Hezbollah. According to the newspaper, such disagreements "raise questions" about the realism of US plans to end the conflict in the Middle East in the short term.

News.Az