White House ‘confident’ Israel, Hezbollah will avoid broader war

The White House said Monday that concerns about a broader war between Israel and Hezbollah following last weekend’s Golan Heights attack that killed a dozen people were “overblown.” The White House expressed confidence that such a scenario would be avoided.

During a call with reporters on Monday, White House national security adviser John Kirby stressed that Israel has “every right” to respond to the attack, but he also emphasized that “nobody wants a broader war.”

“And I am confident that we can avoid such an outcome,” Kirby said.

Kirby noted that fears of a possible all-out war between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S., have spread at “multiple points” over the past 10 months amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

“Those predictions were exaggerated then,” he said. “Frankly, we think they’re exaggerated now.”

The US, Kirby said, is in “ongoing discussions” with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts at multiple levels and believes there is “still time and space” for a “diplomatic solution.”

“The United States will continue to support efforts to reach a diplomatic solution along that Blue Line that will, first, put an end to these horrific attacks once and for all and, second, allow Israeli and Lebanese citizens on both sides of the border to return safely to their homes,” Kirby said, referring to the border between Israel and Lebanon.

A rocket attack on a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights over the weekend killed 12 youths and wounded many more, Israeli authorities said. Israel quickly blamed Hezbollah for the attack, while the Iran-backed group’s spokesman — in a rare move — told the Associated Press it denied carrying out the strike.

Kirby stressed to reporters Monday that the attack was carried out by Hezbollah.

“Despite their denials, it is their missile, which was launched from an area they control,” he said.

The attack comes as the Biden administration urgently pushes for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that could end the nearly 10-month war in Gaza.