BEIRUT / CAIRO: Washington on Wednesday sent an envoy to Lebanon to try and cool down tensions stemming from Iran and Hezbollah’s stated intentions to strike Israel in retaliation for the assassination of two key figures in the Middle East.

All hopes for a de-escalation in the restive region hinge on the negotiation of a ceasefire deal in Gaza, which was ironically derailed by the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.

Hamas dimmed hopes for a truce by saying it would not take part in a fresh round of talks, sparking concern that it would provide Iran the impetus to strike Tel Aviv.

Senior Iranian officials have said that only a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold Iran back from direct retaliation.

Hochstein hopes truce deal will prevent wider conflict; says no one wants all-out war between Lebanon and Israel

A ceasefire in Gaza could also help end 10 months of cross-border exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, and that is what Amos Hochstein had on his mind when he arrived in the Lebanese capital.

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Hochstein told a Beirut news conference that he and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, discussed “the framework agreement that’s on the table for a Gaza ceasefire, and he and I agreed there is no more time to waste and there’s no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay”.

“The deal would also help enable a diplomatic resolution here in Lebanon and that would prevent an outbreak of a wider war,” he said.

“We have to take advantage of this window for diplomatic action and diplomatic solutions. That time is now,” added the envoy, who in 2022 brokered a maritime border deal between Israel and Lebanon.

Late last month, an Israeli strike killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of the group, just hours before Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in an attack blamed on Israel. Hezbollah and Iran have vowed to retaliate, sending tensions soaring.

Hochstein warned that “the more time goes by of escalated tensions… the more the odds and the chances go up for accidents, for mistakes, for inadvertent targets to be hit that could easily cause escalation that gets out of control”.

“Here in Lebanon we believe we can get to (the) end of the conflict now, today. We recognise that there are those who want to tie it to other conflicts.

“We continue to believe that a diplomatic resolution is achievable because we continue to believe that no one truly wants a full-scale war between Lebanon and Israel,” Hochstein said.

Hezbollah has repeatedly said it would only end hostilities once a Gaza ceasefire deal has been reached.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2024