US moves to prevent Israel from striking Beirut and key sites in response to Hezbollah strike

The United States is waging a diplomatic offensive to deter Israel from striking the Lebanese capital Beirut or major civilian infrastructure in response to a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights, five people familiar with the operation said.

Washington is working to avoid an all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah after the attack in the Golan Heights killed 12 children and youths playing on a soccer field over the weekend, according to the five people, who include Lebanese and Iranian officials and diplomats from the Middle East and Europe.

Israel and the United States have blamed Hezbollah for the rocket attack, although the group, which has admitted launching missiles at the area where the attack took place, has denied responsibility.

The aim of the high-speed diplomacy has been to constrain Israel’s response by urging it not to target Beirut, a densely populated city, the southern suburbs of the capital that form Hezbollah’s heartland, or key infrastructure such as airports and bridges, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential details that have not been previously reported.

Lebanese Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, who said he had been in contact with U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein since the Golan attack on Saturday, told Reuters that Israel could avoid the threat of a major escalation by sparing the capital and surrounding areas.

“If they avoid civilians and avoid Beirut and its suburbs, then their attack could be well calculated,” he said.

Israeli officials have said their country wants to take on Hezbollah, but not drag the region into open warfare. The two Middle East and European diplomats said Israel had made no commitments to avoid hitting Beirut, its suburbs or civilian infrastructure.

The U.S. State Department said it would not comment on the details of the diplomatic talks but was seeking a “durable solution” to end cross-border fire. “Our support for Israel’s security is unwavering and unwavering in the face of all Iranian-backed threats, including Hezbollah,” a spokesman told Reuters.

White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Israel had every right to respond to the Golan attack, but that no one wanted a broader war. “As for the discussions over the weekend, you can bet we had them and we had them on multiple levels,” he added. “But I’m not going to go into detail about the content of those discussions.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment, while Hezbollah declined to comment.

The five people familiar with the diplomatic developments over the past two days either participated in or were briefed on the discussions. They said the efforts were aimed at reaching a calibrated approach similar to the one that constrained Israel in April as it considered a response to a massive barrage of some 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones fired by Iran.

An Iranian official said the United States had also conveyed messages to Tehran at least three times since Saturday’s attack on the Golan Heights, “warning that an escalation of the situation would be detrimental to all sides.”

Hezbollah is the most powerful of the regional proxy groups of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” and is allied with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have been attacking Israeli communities and military posts along the border almost daily, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the ongoing war there.

The clashes left 24 civilians dead on the Israeli side, as well as 18 dead among IDF soldiers and reservists. Several attacks also took place from Syria, without causing any injuries.

Hezbollah cited 383 members killed by Israel during the ongoing clashes, mainly in Lebanon, but also in Syria. In Lebanon, 68 other members of other terrorist groups, a Lebanese soldier and dozens of civilians were killed.

In 2006, during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli forces bombed the southern suburb of Beirut known as Dahieh, hitting Hezbollah-affiliated buildings and residential towers. Beirut’s airport was bombed and put out of service, and across Lebanon, bridges, roads, gas stations and other infrastructure were destroyed.

In the past, Israeli officials have warned that a military offensive against Hezbollah would leave Lebanon in tatters.

A French diplomat told Reuters that since the Golan attack, Paris had also been involved in transmitting messages between Israel and Hezbollah to defuse the situation.

France has historical ties with Lebanon, which was under French mandate from 1920 until its independence in 1943. Paris has maintained close ties since then and has around 20,000 citizens in the country, many of whom have dual nationality.

The French Foreign Ministry did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The Israeli Home Front Command, a military unit tasked with protecting civilians, has so far not changed any of its instructions to citizens, indicating that the military does not expect imminent danger from Hezbollah or any other group.

On Sunday, Netanyahu’s top security cabinet authorized the prime minister and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to “decide on the manner and timing of the response” against Hezbollah.

The decision, combined with the abstention of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners – Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – suggests that Israel has opted for a response other than the all-out war that some politicians have advocated.

After the Golan attack, Smotrich issued a strong statement calling for vigorous action. He posted on X: “For the deaths of children, (Hezbollah leader Hassan) Nasrallah should pay with his head. All of Lebanon should pay.”