White House official says Hochstein to hold number of meetings * Anti-government protesters block highways, high school students in wave of walkouts calling for hostage deal
A senior Biden adviser will travel to Israel today for meetings to avoid further escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, a White House official says.
Amos Hochstein will advance efforts to avoid further escalation along the “Blue Line” between Israel and Lebanon, says the official, who did not wish to be identified.
CBS News reported last week that US officials were increasingly concerned that an all-out war could break out after over eight months of skirmishes, since Hezbollah began attacking Israel in October in support of Hamas in Gaza.
Yesterday, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said intensified cross-border fire from Hezbollah into Israel could trigger serious escalation.
“Hezbollah’s increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation, one that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region,” Hagari said in an English-language video statement.
Content retrieved from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-17-2024/.