White House special envoy to the Middle East Amos Hochstein will arrive in Israel Monday morning for meetings with Israeli officials in a bid to deesacaalte tensions with Hezbollah on the northern border.
He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, former War Cabinet member Benny Gantz, President Isaac Herzog and opposition leader Yair Lapid.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, White House special envoy to the Middle East Amos Hochstein and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
(Photo: Miriam Elster: AFP / DALATI NOHRA)
According to assessments, Hochstein is unlikely to prevent an escalation despite his upcoming efforts. His influence on Hezbollah is considered relatively limited. Both Israeli and American officials recognize that his work primarily depends on one factor: a cease-fire in Gaza. Without progress on that front, he can only prepare an arrangement to ease tensions in the northern arena and hope for a hostage deal to halt the violence.
Hochstein is also attempting to restrain Israel following a statement by the IDF spokesperson to the foreign press, noting that " Hezbollah's increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation." He aims to leverage Lebanon's limited influence on Hezbollah. Hochstein is expected to continue to Beirut, where he will meet with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib.
These frequent visits are driven by significant American concerns over a multi-front war. The U.S. warns that even a "limited war" could spiral out of control, potentially involving Iran and Shia militias.
Ahead of his visit, an unusually quiet day passed on the northern border, which has been a focal point for Israel in recent months. The last alarm sounded at 3:21 AM between Saturday and Sunday in Hila, Upper Galilee, with no subsequent alerts and no claims of responsibility from Hezbollah for any incidents. The quiet could be attributed to the Eid al-Adha holiday.
This morning, the IDF spokesperson reported that a suspicious aerial target crossing from Lebanon was successfully intercepted over the maritime area near Acre. No alert was triggered, and there were no casualties. Meanwhile, Israel continued its strikes over the past 24 hours, and Hezbollah's lack of action yesterday does not indicate a change in the organization's stance, as it has vowed to continue fighting as long as Israel attacks in the Gaza Strip.