On Monday, White House official John Kirby reaffirmed US support for Israel but stressed that Washington still hopes for regional de-escalation. This statement came two days after Israel accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah of an attack that killed 12 people in the occupied Golan Heights.
“We believe that there is still time and space for a diplomatic solution,” Kirby said, while speculation arose about Israel’s next move and the potential for a broader regional war. The US does not want this outcome, even though it sent forces to the Middle East following the October 7 attack on Israel and the start of the war on Gaza, showing support for Tel Aviv.
Since then, the world has been on edge, especially after Israel killed two Iranian generals at Tehran’s consulate in Damascus in April, which led to an Iranian attack on Israel. Reports suggested that the US worked to prevent Israel from escalating and from launching a full-scale attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The US has also been mediating a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, though progress has been slow. The recent assassination of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, blamed on Israel by both Hamas and Iran, and the killing of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut have further complicated the situation.
Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group’s US Program, told Al Jazeera that regional de-escalation would likely follow a ceasefire in Gaza. Without one, the risk of a larger conflict involving US forces in the region remains.
“If you want to avoid further escalation in the region, including one that involves US troops, you need to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. That’s necessary to calm things down with the Houthis in Yemen, with Hezbollah, and to maintain the lull in attacks on US troops in Syria and Iraq,” Finucane said.
However, with the recent attacks, Finucane believes that the chances for a US-brokered ceasefire have become more difficult, if not impossible, in the short term.
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