Lebanon has once again entered the core of American-Israeli calculations, after Haaretz newspaper reported that the United States accepted the Israeli explanation for the recent attacks in Lebanon, at a time when Washington is expected to demand that Israel exercise restraint on other fronts.
According to the newspaper, the American position comes in light of President Donald Trump’s pursuit of political achievements in the Middle East, against the backdrop of what Haaretz described as the continued failure in the war against Iran.
Haaretz indicated that the US administration is moving towards reducing the escalation in other arenas, in line with Trump’s desire to record political breakthroughs in the region and not open additional fronts that might complicate the regional scene.
This comes at a time when southern Lebanon is witnessing repeated Israeli escalation, in parallel with political and American moves related to stabilizing security arrangements and preventing the expansion of the confrontation, while the Iranian file remains the most prominent factor in Washington’s regional calculations.
From the dawn hours of Sunday until the early hours of the morning, southern Lebanon witnessed a widespread military escalation, distributed between air strikes, artillery shelling, and helicopter sweeps. Israeli warplanes targeted Al-Qantara, Doha Kafr Rumman, and Ali Al-Taher, while artillery shelling targeted Al-Shoriya, Wadi Al-Hujair, and Al-Jabal Al-Rafi’a.
The Ali Al-Taher area was also subjected to bombardment with phosphorus shells that continued for more than two hours, in conjunction with a sweep carried out by helicopters that continued until 5 am, targeting Ali Al-Taher and Al-Dabsha.
