'Best way' to resolve tensions on Israeli-Lebanon border is cease-fire in Gaza: US

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US State Department said Monday that a cease-fire in Gaza would make resolving the border tensions between Israel and Lebanon "much easier.”

Spokesman Matt Miller said the US has been worried about an escalation in the north and the possibility of a full-scale conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group since the very early days after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel and the launch of the war in Gaza.

"But our assessment of the situation continues to be that the best way to get a diplomatic resolution in the north, which we think all sides ultimately prefer, is to reach a cease-fire in Gaza, and so the two are related," said Miller during a press briefing.

"It doesn't mean you can say with 100% certainty that you wouldn’t be able to get a cease-fire in the north without resolution in Gaza, but certainly having a cease-fire in Gaza makes a resolution in the north much, much easier," he added.

On Sunday, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that since Oct. 7 last year, when the war in the Gaza Strip began, Hezbollah has fired over 5,000 rockets, anti-tank missiles and explosive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into Israel.

Tensions have risen along Lebanon's border with Israel amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses ahead with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 37,000 people since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.