Another snub for Biden diplomacy as Netanyahu pushes button on Hezbollah from US soil

Strike that killed Hassan Nasrallah came as Washington rallied support for ceasefire proposal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approves air strikes on Beirut over the phone from New York. Reuters

The administration of President Joe Biden spent much of high level week at the UN General Assembly working behind the scenes to establish a ceasefire proposal that would lead to Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah silence their weapons for three weeks.

Despite a public rejection from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, US officials still held out hope that a ceasefire was possible.

US officials spent the week trying to convince Israeli counterparts that the ceasefire proposal was worth considering, despite a sense that many in Israel were feeling emboldened by strikes against Hezbollah, a group that had proved to be a resilient adversary for decades.

Instead, from US soil, Mr Netanyahu ordered a strike on Friday that destroyed several buildings in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahieh, killed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and left the region once again on the precipice of conflict.

Friday’s attack was just the latest in nearly a year of Israeli actions that have gone against Washington's requests and neutered US diplomacy in the region.

Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had a “frank and very firm conversation” with his Israel counterpart after the US was given no advance warning of the strike, according to Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.

“The Secretary was caught off guard,” Ms Singh said. “We were not involved in that operation. We were notified, as you know, the operation was under way. So, again, his reaction was that he was caught off guard.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made 10 trips to the Middle East since October 7. Each visit has been marked by some sort of Israeli rebuff to his requests and he has typically left the region with tension between Washington and Israel higher than when he arrived.

Despite his best efforts, Mr Blinken has been all but ignored by Mr Netanyahu, who has shown time and again he can ignore US wishes without Washington imposing any real consequences.

It appears increasingly obvious that Mr Netanyahu sees the unfolding wars in Gaza and Lebanon as an opportunity for Israel to forever change the regional chessboard.

He wants to deliver fatal blows to Hamas, Hezbollah and likely Iran and appears to have little concern for civilians killed by Israel’s missiles and bullets.

Friday's strike in Beirut took out several buildings in one of Lebanon’s most densely populated areas and Israel has conducted thousands of air strikes killing hundreds of people since October 7.

Mr Biden said Nasrallah’s death was “a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.”

But he added the US still hoped “to de-escalate the continuing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means.”

The administration has long maintained publicly and privately that if not for their efforts, Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon, would likely be far more destructive.

But about 41,600 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its retaliatory campaign following Hamas’s attack on Israel a year ago.

Huge swathes of the densely populated enclave have been obliterated, leaving behind apocalyptic scenes of destruction.

In Lebanon, Israeli strikes and the threat of them, have displaced more than one million people. Lebanese have fled their homes in the south and Beirut’s southern suburbs taking refuge in city squares and open spaces.

Israel has wreaked 11 months of havoc on the region and while Washington may feel that if not for them, it would have been worse, that’s little solace for terrified civilians in Gaza and Lebanon.

Following Nasrallah death, Mr Biden reiterated his desire to see the conflicts end.

“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,” he said.

In the hours since, Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon, once again ignoring US pleas and has now struck Yemen, showing it is willing to bring the fight wherever it chooses.

Mr Biden, 81, only has a few more months left to influence events in the Middle East, something officials are keenly aware of. As Israel targets its adversaries, it appears increasingly unlikely that he will be able to broker any sort of ceasefire in Gaza or in Lebanon.