WASHINGTON, Dec 24: US President Joe Biden convinced in October Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to carry out a preventive strike against Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing US officials.
Israel had information that Hezbollah forces were preparing attacks on Israel after Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against the Jewish state from the Gaza Strip and breached the border on October 7, the report said. Israeli military aircraft were ready to conduct the preventive strike, but Biden’s call to Netanyahu on October 11 changed Israeli plans, the report added.
In particular, the United States found Israel’s intelligence unreliable, the report read, adding that the US president invited Netanyahu to think about the consequences of the attack on Lebanon, which could lead to a wider regional war.
The Israeli government believed that a large war in the Middle East was inevitable and wanted to strike first, the newspaper reported. At the same time, Israel realized that it could not take such a step alone, and requested support from Washington, the report said.
After the long internal discussions followed by Biden’s call, the Israeli government reportedly abandoned the idea of striking Hezbollah. (UNI)
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