Return visit after a month… Concerns over Israel’s northern ‘second front’
As fighting with Hezbollah intensifies on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, the commander of the U.S. Central Command is visiting Israel again for the first time in a month to prevent an escalation of the war.
On the 16th (local time), the U.S. Axios, citing two Israeli officials, reported that U.S. Central Command Commander Michael Eric Kurilla is scheduled to visit Israel on the 17th.
Commander Kurilla plans to meet with high-ranking Israeli defense and military officials, including Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzy Halevi, to discuss the war in the Gaza Strip and the situation along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
An Israeli government official told Axios that he is expected to be briefed on ground operations in the Gaza Strip and future military plans.
This is the second time since the 16th of last month that the Kurilla commander has visited Israel since the start of the war, and is expected to convey the United States’ concerns regarding the escalation of war as the fighting between the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel intensifies.
On this day, fighting continued, including exchanges of gunfire with Hezbollah, in the area bordering Lebanon in northern Israel.
The United States has been concerned about the possibility of a second front forming with Hezbollah in northern Israel, and in recent weeks has been working through diplomatic and military channels to prevent the war in Gaza from spreading into a conflict in the Middle East.
It is known that U.S. President Joe Biden raised issues related to concerns about war escalation at the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping held in San Francisco the previous day.
John Kirby, the White House National Security Council (NSC) strategic communications coordinator, said President Biden is aware that the Chinese government has direct channels of communication with Iran, and urged China to use these channels to avoid escalating war on Iran. He said he did it.
As US troops stationed in the Middle East continue to suffer damage, efforts to prevent this are expected to be discussed.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, there have been about 50 cases of attacks on U.S. troops by pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq since the outbreak of the war on the 7th of last month. The U.S. military carried out three airstrikes against targets known to be linked to pro-Iranian militias and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Meanwhile, foreign media reported the day before that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei informed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier this month that he would not directly intervene in the war with Israel.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.