By Wassim Saifuldine
BEIRUT (AA) – Israel has set a March 15 deadline for a political settlement with Lebanon or it will escalate the current border clashes with Hezbollah into a war, according to a Lebanese newspaper on Thursday.
Al-Akhbar newspaper said that Tel Aviv told mediators that it will go into a full-scale war in Lebanon if no deal to push Hezbollah from the border is reached by March 15.
On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US special envoy Amos Hochstein that cross-border clashes with Hezbollah will bring Israel closer to a decision regarding military action in Lebanon.
Al-Akhbar newspaper, citing Western officials, said Hochstein does not believe the cross-border clashes between Lebanon and Israel can be halted before a truce deal is reached in the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, Hochstein said a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip may not necessarily halt cross-border clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.
There was no comment from Hezbollah or Lebanese authorities on the report.
Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of weapons fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.
The border tension comes amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 30,800 people following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
At least 300 people are estimated to have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since the clashes first erupted last October. Nearly 20 Israelis have also been killed, according to Israeli figures.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala