US officials say Lebanon ceasefire not collapsing
Trump administration officials have said that the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel is not collapsing, despite the growing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
"Hezbollah is not a party to the ceasefire, and is trying to derail it," one of the officials told U.S. news portal Axios.
"Hezbollah's strategy is clear: provoke, attack, and then blame Israel in order to kill the negotiations and make the Lebanese government look bad. We cannot feasibly expect Israel to just take the hits. This is not the Biden administration," the U.S. official added.
But the official said the Trump administration has asked Israel to "show restraint" and give space to the new diplomatic process with Lebanon.
"We are going to massively increase our political campaign on Hezbollah and are looking for ways to get the Lebanese Armed Forces to overcome their challenges and intend to do this on a very rapid schedule," the U.S. official said.
Source: Naharnet
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