Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli airstrike
Fox News senior correspondent Mike Tobin has the latest on the Middle East conflict on ‘Special Report.’
The Biden administration is in discussions with Israel and other nations to secure a temporary ceasefire between the Jewish state and Hezbollah, amid fears of a wider war breaking out in the region, Fox News has learned.
The effort comes as Israel and the Iran-backed, Lebanon-based terror group continue to exchange intense missile fire.
“We know tensions are high, but we also see that there is a path forward for diplomacy, and that’s why you’re seeing this administration push so hard to get this done,” Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Wednesday.
The proposal is for a temporary ceasefire that would last a few weeks — the hope being that it could lead to something permanent. The plan began to come together following a Monday phone call between national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.
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Thick smoke rises above the southern suburbs of Beirut after an Israel strike on September 20, 2024. Israel has intensified airstrikes against the Hezbollah targets in recent days, promoting fears of an all-out war in the region. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
France has been involved in the discussions, as have other Arab countries with which the U.S. regularly partners. France’s foreign minister said his country and the U.S. were working on a 21-day ceasefire that would “allow for negotiations” amid the escalating conflict that has killed more that 600 people in recent days.
“We are counting on both parties to accept it without delay,” Jean-Noël Barrot told the U.N. Security Council.
Barrot said France and the U.S. had consulted with the sides on “final parameters for a diplomatic way out of this crisis,” adding that “war is not unavoidable.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other advisers to President Biden have spent the past three days at U.N. General Assembly meeting of world leaders in New York lobbying other countries to support the plan, according to U.S. officials.
The U.S. effort to secure the ceasefire isn’t tethered to efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages in Gaza.
Heavy traffic formed at the entrance of the city of Saida after residents of southern Lebanon, particularly from areas near the border, were forced to flee towards the north of the country due to the intensification of Israeli airstrikes on Sunday. ( Ahmed Kaddoura/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“What we are saying to our Israeli counterparts is we want to make sure you can protect yourself, protect your citizens,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday. “We want those families to go back home where they belong. And we don’t believe that an all out war is the best path forward to doing that.”
Lebanese officials said a massive Israeli barrage killed at least 560 people on Monday, prompting thousands to flee southern Lebanon. Israeli forces have continued to carry out dozens of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets within Lebanon following months of attacks by the terror group targeting Israeli soil.
Hezbollah said it launched missiles at eight different targets within Israel early Tuesday. The Israeli military said it tracked 55 rockets fired out of Lebanon and landing in Israel.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on the village of Khiam, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israel has stated it does not want a war with Hezbollah, which has attacked its southern neighbor numerous times since the Israel-Hamas began on Oct. 7. However, the Israeli military has vowed to do “whatever is necessary” to repel the Iranian proxy from their northern border.
One Israeli airstrike recently killed Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Muhammad Qubaisi in an airstrike in Beirut. Qubaisi was a top commander in Hezbollah’s missile and rocket force.
Israel has conducted at least five targeted airstrikes in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Pentagon announced an additional deployment of a small number of U.S. troops to the Middle East.
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“In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region. But for operational security reasons, I’m not going to comment on or provide specifics,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during an off-camera gaggle.
The troops were moved to Cyprus on Monday as the possibility of an evacuation operation has increased.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.