of era of israel According to reports on Friday, American officials told the paper that the Israeli government did not notify the White House before a major attack on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, the same day.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Friday that it had successfully bombed Hezbollah's high command headquarters in the Lebanese capital, potentially eliminating the group's head, Saeed Nasrallah. At the time of writing, Mr. Nasrallah's status is unknown.
“Recently, the Israel Defense Forces carried out a precision attack on the central headquarters of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which has become a center of terror for Hezbollah,” said Israel Defense Forces spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari. “Israel is doing what every sovereign nation in the world would do if there was a terrorist organization on its borders seeking its destruction.”
At the time of writing, few details regarding the size of the strike have been released. According to Lebanon Lorient todaythe strike destroyed at least six residential buildings. In his announcement, Hagari noted that Hezbollah, like its Iranian-backed Hamas allies, is building terrorist infrastructure in residential areas to use residents as human shields.
An anonymous U.S. official asked for comment on the explosion told the paper. era of israel President Joe Biden's administration reportedly did not know the IDF would bomb Beirut until the operation had already begun.
“Israel notified the United States of the IDF's large-scale airstrike in Beirut after the aircraft had already taken off and the operation had begun,” the newspaper reported. “The United States had no prior knowledge of the attack, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.”
second anonymous official added The White House said it had received no advance information from allies and had no choice but to “gather further information” on the issue.
The attack on Hezbollah is part of the escalating conflict between the Shiite terrorist organization and the state of Israel that erupted in the aftermath of Hamas' massacre of more than 1,200 people in the October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel. Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has been fighting a war in northern Israel, displacing tens of thousands of civilians and effectively making it impossible for Israel to control the territory.
Over the past month, the Biden administration has been pressuring Israel to seek negotiations with Hezbollah, despite Hezbollah's official position. motto “Death to Israel” has repeatedly and unequivocally called for the genocidal extermination of the Israeli people. On Tuesday, Biden renewed his call for negotiations with both Hamas and Hezbollah in his final speech to the United Nations General Assembly.
“All-out war is in no one's interest. Even if the situation escalates, a diplomatic solution is still possible,” Biden said. claimed. “In fact, the only path to lasting security remains for the people of both countries.” [Israel and Lebanon] So that they can return safely to their hometowns on the border. And that's what works, and that's what we work tirelessly to achieve. ”
The Israeli government has largely ignored the Biden administration's attempts to halt self-defense operations against jihadist terrorist groups. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has repeatedly acknowledged publicly that it has no information about large-scale attacks against terrorists in the region, allegedly by Israel but not confirmed.
In July, an explosion in Tehran killed Hamas's “political” leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was visiting Iran to attend the inauguration of President Massoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not confirmed its involvement in the explosion, but reports suggest the attack was an Israeli operation. The Biden administration responded to the attack by telling reporters it had not been informed of the incident in any way.
“This is something we were not aware of or involved in,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters about Haniyeh's death. “It is critical that the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza end. It is critical that the hostages, including many Americans, be brought home.”
In mid-September, a series of explosions apparently targeting Hezbollah leaders occurred across Lebanon, injuring thousands. Pagers, walkie-talkies, and other electronic devices belonging to Hezbollah leaders suddenly exploded, causing nationwide panic. Again, Israel did not confirm or deny involvement in the explosion, but widespread reporting linked Israel to the explosion, and both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government pointed to Israel as the culprit.
“We are gathering information regarding this incident,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters shortly after the explosion. “We can say that the United States was not involved and that the United States had no prior knowledge of this incident. We are currently gathering information.”
