US seeks to calm Mideast as Israel and Hezbollah trade more fire

The U.S.’s top diplomat landed in Israel on Tuesday, with Joe Biden trying to bring cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza closer before American elections in a fortnight.

Antony Blinken’s trip comes as Israel and Hezbollah continued to trade heavy fire. An Israeli overnight attack near Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital killed four people including a child, according to Lebanese officials. They added the strike caused major damage to the hospital, one of the biggest in Lebanon.

Israel said it did not hit the hospital itself and was instead targeting a close by “terrorist target.”

Hezbollah launched several missiles toward Tel Aviv early on Tuesday, signaling its continued threat to Israel despite having had most of its senior leaders killed and much of its arsenal destroyed in recent weeks.

The Israeli military said it intercepted most of the missiles or they fell in open areas. The salvo still meant hundreds of thousands of people had to rush into shelters.

With U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris facing off against Republican challenger Donald Trump on Nov. 5, the Biden administration is keen to bring an end to Israel’s multi-front conflict with Iran-backed militant groups or — if that proves unachievable within two weeks — at least prevent hostilities worsening.

Blinken is making his 11th visit to the Middle East since the crisis began in October last year with Hamas’ attack on southern Israel. He’s set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He’s likely to visit Arab states later this week.

Washington has previously looked to Egypt and Qatar to broker a cease-fire with Hamas under which Israel would recover hostages held in Gaza and the ravaged enclave would receive more aid. Such a deal could calm the situation in Lebanon, where Hezbollah — like Hamas, classed as a terrorist group by the U.S. and supported by Iran — has said its attacks on Israeli territory were in response to Israel’s offensive on Gaza.

Israel has shown little interest, however, in offering a reprieve to its enemies yet. Netanyahu and his right-wing cabinet believe they need to continue with their military operations, which have hugely degraded Hezbollah and probably killed around half of Hamas’ 35,000 fighters.

This week, the Israeli military widened its campaign in Lebanon to target Al Qard Al Hassan Association, a bank-like institution it says helps fund Hezbollah’s operations. It also accused the Shiite group of hoarding cash and gold in a bunker under another Beirut hospital.

Administrators of the hospital, Sahel General, invited media organizations for a tour on Tuesday morning to prove the allegation wrong, according to Lebanese state panel.

Iran Question

As well as Gaza and Lebanon, Blinken will discuss Israel’s looming retaliation against Iran for a missile attack on Oct. 1. The U.S. wants Israel to avoid hitting Iran’s oil-export and nuclear facilities, fearing that such moves could trigger a regional war and push up energy prices.

Biden’s main envoy for Israel-Hezbollah affairs, Amos Hochstein, was in Beirut on Monday to speak to allies of the militant group. He was trying to see under what conditions a UN Security Council resolution — known as 1701, it helped end a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah — could be fully implemented by both sides.

Israel wants Hezbollah to disarm and keep its fighters away from the Israeli border, as per 1701’s stipulations.

But Israel has given no indication it will cease surveillance flights over Lebanon — a breach of 1701 — and has indicated it wants the right to strike Hezbollah post-conflict if its fighters approach the Israeli border. While that would be hard for Lebanese politicians to accept, it would enable the tens of thousands of Israelis displaced from northern communities to return home, a key objective for Netanyahu.

Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have forced about 1.2 million people — out of a population of roughly 5.5 million — to flee their homes.