Israel has stopped attacking Hezbollah targets in Beirut, Lebanon, at the request of U.S. President Joe Biden, according to media reports.
For the past four weeks, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has targeted Hezbollah bunkers and operatives in Beirut, primarily in the southern area of Dahiyeh. The campaign has been highly successful, killing most of the senior leaders of the terrorist organization and throwing it into disarray.
But Biden reportedly asked Israel last week to stop attacking targets in Beirut during their phone call — their first since August.
The Times of Israel, referring to two separate reports in the Israeli media, reported Sunday that “US President Joe Biden had asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to curb strikes in the Lebanese capital when the two spoke last week.”
Israel agreed, in deference to the U.S., though the request could turn Beirut into a safe haven for Hezbollah once again, making it more difficult for Israel to win the war except through combat on the ground, risking troops.
The Biden administration is heavily invested in Lebanon, sending hundreds of millions of dollars to stabilize the Lebanese government and, more recently, to aid in civilian relief, despite concern that funds could be diverted to Hezbollah’s purposes.
The U.S. is currently building a massive $1 billion embassy in Beirut, with many questioning the need for such a large diplomatic presence in such a small country that few Americans visit and that has few commercial ties to the U.S.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.