It is "premature" for Israel to sign a ceasefire deal with Lebanon, according to British commander Richard Kemp.
RICHARD KEMP TALKS TO ILTV
He told ILTV News last week that the ceasefire efforts are being driven by the Biden administration, which wants to see some conclusion to the war before U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office. However, he said that Israel's work against the terror organization Hezbollah is not done.
"Israel needs to do much more damage to Hezbollah, and it effectively needs to create a situation where Hezbollah becomes demilitarized as a longer-term objective, and that there is a very significant buffer zone between the Israeli border and the southern part of Lebanon, to the extent that there is no longer a direct threat to the residents of Northern Israel who can then return home," Kemp said. "That is not necessarily going to happen overnight."
Overnight, Reuters reported that Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Israel, with some comments. Israel did not comment.
Kemp stressed that Iran drives all seven battlefronts on which Israel is fighting. He has been a strong advocate for a U.S. administration that would take action against Iran alongside Israel or at least untie Israel's hands so it can cut off Iran, which he referred to as the head of the octopus.
"Israel can't do that without the support of the US," Kemp said, referring to the ability to cut off Iran where it is at literally. "Israel can inflict severe damage on the Iranian regime and the Iranian nuclear program, but it can't do that without the backing of the U.S.
"In the ideal world, I think the US would also go in and attack Iran with Israel," he continued. However, he said that he does not envision that happening even under newly elected President Donald Trump.
"I do think is going to happen is the handcuffs are going to be taken off Israel to allow it the freedom to do what it needs to do and inflict significant damage on Iran so that Iran is no longer in a position to run all of these different proxies around the region against Israel and against the West," Kemp concluded.