WASHINGTON: In the days following the October 7 attack against Israel, US President Joe Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to nix a planned preemptive attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon, adding that the step would likely ignite a regional conflict, western media reported.
According to western media, on October 11, Israeli warplanes were in the air and awaiting instructions to launch the airstrikes when President Biden spoke with Netanyahu and urged him to stand down and consider the costs.
President Biden Convinced Israeli PM not to Attack Hezbollah Days Following Oct 7: Report
The attack never went ahead. The discussion between Biden and Netanyahu was in an effort from Washington since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip to stop any expansion of the conflict that could lead to the America being drawn into a larger crisis.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a primary focus of the Washington since the war started has been to quell any escalation along Israel’s border with Lebanon where Israeli military exchanges gunfire with Hezbollah and Palestinian resistance groups.
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Meanwhile, the Palestinian health ministry said that the death toll in Gaza has reached at least 20,258 people, mostly women and children, due to ongoing relentless Israeli attacks since October 7. The statement added that in the past 24 hours alone, 201 Palestinians have been killed, and 368 others injured in the Gaza Strip.
