US pushes to resurrect ceasefire talks with Hezbollah

Despite escalating violence, some senior US officials hope the airstrike that killed Hassan Nasrallah creates an opportunity for negotiations.

US President Joe Biden said the goal was still to get both sides to sign on to a temporary pause. Picture: AFP

Senior officials in the Biden administration were scrambling on Sunday to salvage their push for a ceasefire at Israel’s northern border after an Israeli airstrike in ­Beirut killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Though the strike represents a seeming setback for American ­efforts to pause the fighting, senior US officials said the militant leader’s death could offer an opportunity to revive months of failed talks between Israel and Hezbollah.

With Israel in its strongest position against Hezbollah since the October 7 attacks and the militant group on the back foot, top US ­officials see a window of opportunity to get at least a temporary pause in the fighting.

Israel showed no signs of moving towards such talks, promising instead to step up its military campaign in southern Lebanon.

On Saturday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Hezbollah was being crushed. Friday’s strike came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a defiant address to the UN on Friday vowing to continue the campaign.

Israel didn’t tell the US beforehand about the Friday strikes, the Biden administration said.

They occurred in the middle of a residential area, killing and wounding civilians.

Despite the escalating violence, US President Joe Biden said the goal was still to get both sides to sign on to a temporary pause.

“Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means,” Mr Biden said in a statement on Saturday, citing negotiations on potential ceasefire agreements both in Gaza and in Lebanon. “It is time for these deals to close, for the threats to Israel to be removed, and for the broader Middle East region to gain greater stability.”

One senior US official said it was “too soon to tell” whether Nasrallah’s death would help or hinder ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah and Hamas. There was no prospect for imminent talks, the official added, though the possibility remained that diplomacy could resume once there was a larger pause in Israel’s ­operations.

What happens next largely depends on what Israel and Hezbollah do, not the US government, said Mick Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official and retired CIA officer. “Until the parties have publicly signalled their interest in getting to a ceasefire agreement and stated their parameters, there is little the US can do,” he said.

“And when the US is optimistic, it hurts its own credibility.”

Throughout the negotiations, the US hasn’t talked directly with Hezbollah, which it has classified as a terror group. Rather, allies such as Egypt and Qatar have talked to Hezbollah, and the US has spoken to Lebanese leaders who can reach the group.

The killing of Hezbollah’s leader and several of his associates was one of the biggest military and intelligence wins for the Netanyahu government since the start of the current conflict.

Israel killed at least a dozen Hezbollah leaders earlier this month in strikes and destroyed an untold amount of weapons, leaving Hezbollah politically humiliated in Lebanon.

The Wall Street Journal