Senior Israeli security officials reportedly believe the new “quiet for quiet” understandings in Lebanon are extremely fragile and may not survive for long.
According to the report, President Donald Trump blocked Israel in the past 24 hours from carrying out planned strikes against Hezbollah targets in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut. The concern in Washington was that such an Israeli attack could derail ongoing US-Iran contacts over a memorandum of understandings.
The planned Israeli strike reportedly came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel would respond to Hezbollah’s actions. Iran then reportedly suspended the talks with the US and threatened attacks against communities in northern Israel. Qatar, which is mediating alongside Pakistan, also reportedly worked behind the scenes with the Trump administration to stop the Israeli strike.
After a phone call between Netanyahu and Trump, the president wrote that the conversation was “very productive” and said no forces would enter Beirut. The report notes that Trump may have been referring to an airstrike, since Israel was not believed to be planning a ground operation in Beirut.