Israel extends Lebanon occupation plan.
Report: Israel Plans To Invade Lebanon
In the Second Half of July
Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com
(July 1, 2024) — The German newspaper Bild reported on Monday that Israel is planning to invade Lebanon in the second half of July as Israeli forces and Hezbollah continue to trade fire across the border.
The report, which cited diplomatic sources, said Israel would launch the assault unless Hezbollah stopped firing on northern Israel. But Israeli officials have made clear that’s not enough for them as they are demanding Hezbollah withdraw from the border to areas beyond the Litani River.
The Litani River is about 18 miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border, and Israel has said a Hezbollah withdrawal from the area is necessary for Israelis who have evacuated from northern Israel to return to their homes.
Hezbollah’s position is that it won’t stop firing on northern Israel unless there is a ceasefire in Gaza, while Israeli officials have threatened to escalate in Lebanon if they reach a truce with Hamas.
The US claims it’s working hard to prevent an escalation in Lebanon but has conveyed it would support Israel in the event of an invasion. The US deployed an amphibious assault ship to the region last week to show support for Israel in the stand-off and prepare for potential evacuations of Americans from Lebanon.
Israeli media has reported that the Israeli military likely couldn’t handle opening a second front in Lebanon while maintaining military operations in Gaza, which suggests Israel could be looking for strong support from the US for the war in the north.
The USS Wasp arrived in the eastern Mediterranean last week
US Sends Amphibious Assault Ship To
Show Support for Israel Amid Lebanon Tensions
Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com
(July 1, 2024) — The US has deployed an amphibious assault ship to the Middle East to demonstrate support for Israel amid soaring tensions on the Lebanon-Israel border.
The Pentagon announced that the USS Wasp arrived in the eastern Mediterranean Sea last week. The deployment comes amid fears of a full-blown Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon as Israeli forces and Hezbollah continue to trade fire across the border.
A US official told The Associated Press that the deployment was “about deterrence,” but the US show of force could embolden Israel. The US insists it’s working to prevent a war in Lebanon, but Middle East Eye recently reported that Washington conveyed to Lebanon it would ultimately support Israel if it went ahead with an invasion.
The Wasp is carrying a US Marine Corps Expeditionary Unit and is sailing along with the USS Oak Hill, a dock-landing ship. US officials told NBC News last week that one purpose of the Wasp’s deployment is to stand by to evacuate Americans in the event that a full-scale war breaks out along the Israel-Lebanon border.
Another US official told AP that the deployment of the Wasp was comparable to the US sending warships to the region in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel and the start of the Israeli onslaught in Gaza.
The US said the purpose of building up its forces in the Middle East after October 7 was to prevent a regional war. But the brutal assault on Gaza sparked other conflicts across the region, including the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, which led to a new US bombing campaign in Yemen.
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