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Washington: Despite calls from the US to prevent a ground offensive in Lebanon, Israel has initiated "targeted" raids in the country, indicating that Washington has struggled to rein in its ally amidst concerns of a broader conflict in the Middle East.
On Monday, President Biden expressed his opposition to Israeli ground operations in Lebanon, urging for a ceasefire as tensions escalated following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. "I'm more aware than you might know, and I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now," Biden told reporters when asked about Israeli plans for limited operations in Lebanon.
Hours later, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed that Israel had notified Washington about its ongoing "limited operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure near the border." The Israeli military subsequently announced on Tuesday that it had launched "ground raids" in southern Lebanon.
This situation feels familiar. Each time the US advocates for a negotiated resolution or a ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to respond by intensifying military action. Just last week, immediately following a joint US-French statement calling for a three-week ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Netanyahu ordered new airstrikes against the Iran-backed group the very next day.
"The Biden administration has largely played a passive role in these events—supplying Israel with the military resources for such operations while often being caught off guard by its decisions," noted Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
At the United Nations on Friday, the contrast was stark: as Netanyahu authorized a strike against Nasrallah, risking a wider regional conflict, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the need for diplomacy from all parties involved.
"The question isn't whether Israel has the right to confront existential threats to its security from its borders. Of course, it does. But the key question is how best to achieve its goals," Blinken stated, reflecting the US stance articulated following the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel.
Israel seems intent on leveraging its position after inflicting significant damage on Hezbollah and putting Hamas on the back foot in Gaza, according to diplomats.
Meanwhile, the US continues to hope that diplomacy will succeed in both Gaza and Lebanon. Blinken emphasized that diplomacy is "the best and only path to greater stability in the Middle East," reaffirming Washington's commitment to advancing these efforts.
Over the weekend, Blinken spoke with his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, who urged Israel to refrain from any ground operations—a request that seems to have been ignored. Blinken also had discussions with Britain's David Lammy and other Arab leaders during a meeting of the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group.
Blinken's aides have long maintained that Washington respects Israel's sovereignty and implicitly recognize that US influence over Netanyahu is limited.
The situation on the ground is developing rapidly, and the United States appears unable to intervene effectively, leaving Israel’s primary military and diplomatic ally in a reactive position.
To date, Biden has not employed military aid as leverage to influence Netanyahu's decisions, except for suspending one shipment of bombs in May.
The upcoming US elections have further complicated the situation, as Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden’s potential successor, is vying for the presidency against former Republican President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration hopes to achieve a Middle East peace agreement before the elections, but few believe it will alter its strategy so close to the November 5 Election Day.