All week, Biden Administration officials have been making statements expressing fears about the potential escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, but without offering anything that could prevent it from happening. “France and the United States are united in calling for restraint and urging de-escalation when it comes to the Middle East in general and when it comes to Lebanon in particular,” Blinken told reporters in Paris yesterday during a joint press conference with French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné. “We continue to work to get a ceasefire for Gaza over the finish line. And as we discussed with some of you just a day ago in Egypt, we believe that remains both possible and necessary. But meanwhile, we don’t want to see any escalatory actions by any party that make that even more difficult.”
Back at Foggy Bottom, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that the U.S. would urge Israel to halt strikes on Hezbollah if it stopped launching attacks against Israel first. “(Hezbollah chief Hassan) Nasrallah could stop the terrorist attacks across Israel. And I guarantee you, if he did that, we would be impressing upon Israel the need to maintain calm on their end,” said Miller.
