Biden administration floats pause in Israel-Hezbollah conflict amid fears of all-out war

(WASHINGTON) — As Israel laid the groundwork for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon, the Biden administration on Wednesday was urging diplomacy to resolve the country’s long-simmering conflict with Hezbollah — but growing increasingly resigned to full-blown warfare on a second front in the Middle East, according to multiple U.S. officials.

Two officials told ABC News that the administration has floated at least one draft proposal aimed at temporarily halting the conflict, but at this point Israel has signaled it intends to move forward with battle plans aimed at ending months of tit-for-tat exchanges with Hezbollah across its northern border by decimating the militant group.

“I cannot detail everything we are doing, but I can tell you one thing: we are determined to return our residents in the north safely to their homes,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, referring to Israelis who have been displaced since Hezbollah began firing rockets shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

One senior U.S. official said that Hezbollah’s firing of a ballistic missile targeting the headquarters of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad near Tel Aviv only intensified the Israeli government’s resolve, even though Israeli forces were able to successfully intercept the missile.

The U.S. also has little leverage over Hezbollah, so it’s unclear whether the group would abide by any such agreement to pause the fighting. The administration could potentially rely on partners with direct ties to Hezbollah to contain the group, but all of its efforts to halt its attacks on Israel over the last year have been unsuccessful.

Nevertheless, senior officials say they are still pursuing “concrete options” for de-escalation, and Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday that Israeli leadership remained “open-minded.”

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Wednesday that it didn’t appear an Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon was in the offing, potentially allowing time for negotiations to make headway.

“Without characterizing Israeli operations and letting them speak to them for themselves, it doesn’t look like anything is imminent,” she said.

The Biden administration is also fervently focused on keeping Iran — a chief military and financial supporter of Hezbollah — on the sidelines through indirect diplomacy.

“We also have to coordinate and work together to deter destabilizing activities by Iran. I urge all of us to use the leverage that we have to press Iran to stop fueling escalation,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a meeting with Arab leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday.

But Israel’s military actions in Lebanon over the course of the last week have put the schism between Israel and the U.S. on full display.

When Israel has struck Hezbollah targets in the past, it has typically given the U.S. advanced notice. However, Biden administration officials say they did not receive any warning before hundreds of communication devices distributed to the groups’ members exploded in an attack widely attributed to Israel.

While Israel has messaged its intention to conduct a ground incursion into Lebanon, it has not shared detailed plans with the U.S. — a dynamic that echoes the early days of the country’s military campaign in Gaza.

The lack of transparency has heightened concerns for Americans in the region. The State Department estimates that over 80,000 U.S. citizens live in Lebanon, but it’s unclear how many heeded the department’s July advisory to leave the country.

In a message to Americans still in Lebanon sent on Wednesday, State Department officials said they would hold a call on the security situation in the country on Friday and urged U.S. nationals to depart “while commercial options still remain available.”