According to the newspaper, Biden complained to his staff that Netanyahu is a “liar” only concerned about his own political survival.
Israel has been stepping up its campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah, and Netanyahu warned this week that the country could face a long war and devastation on the scale of Gaza, which is largely in ruins after a year of Israel’s war on Hamas in the Palestinian territory.
The military sent a fourth division into the south of Lebanon – a division usually contains 5000 to 10,000 troops – and has targeted the group with persistent bombing raids. The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday that 185 military targets have been attacked in the past day.
Netanyahu called for Lebanese people to “take your country back” from Hezbollah, which is also a political party with substantial support among Shiite Muslims.
“You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza,” he said.
Hezbollah has been firing rockets of its own, and two people died on Wednesday in the Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona after a barrage of missiles fired from Lebanon, emergency officials said. The group has also targeted Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, and the surrounding area. Tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced from northern communities, and Netanyahu says their return is a key war objective.
Loading
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is on a tour of the region to drum up support for opposing Israel’s actions in Lebanon and Gaza. He met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Wednesday, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
Hezbollah’s deputy chief, Naim Qasem, said on Tuesday that the group supports efforts for a cease-fire with Israel, without naming a longstanding precondition of a truce in Gaza. Still, Israeli demands for the pullback of Hezbollah to the Litani River, which lies about 30 kilometres from the border, are likely to be unacceptable to the organisation.
The US backed the proposed Hezbollah withdrawal, which was required under a United Nations Security Council resolution ending a 2006 war but never implemented.
“We support Israel’s efforts to degrade Hezbollah’s capability but ultimately we do want to see a diplomatic resolution to this conflict,” Matthew Miller, spokesman for the US State Department, said in a briefing on Tuesday.
Bloomberg
Sign up for our What in the world newsletter to get a special US election wrap-up every Tuesday plus a note from our foreign correspondents around the globe each Thursday.
