Fear about the deteriorating situation on the Israel-Lebanon border is mounting, and the US policy has been to pressure Lebanon to enter into direct talks with Israel, something Lebanon has repeatedly offered to do.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reiterated Lebanon’s willingness to enter into talks, but noted that Israel keeps refusing to meet and is effectively blocking the talks, even though, nominally, Israel keeps insisting to the US that it is the one seeking discussion.
“That’s a puzzle for me. They ask for negotiations, and when we show readiness, they don’t agree to the rendezvous,” Salam noted. So far, Israel’s priority has been to continue attacking southern Lebanon in an ever-escalating campaign that has killed hundreds since the ceasefire.
Members of the Lebanese army gather at the entrance of Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, following an Israeli strike that killed several people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, in the southern city of Sidon, Lebanon November 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir
According to Israeli officials quoted in the Israeli media, they want to escalate far more than they already have. Military sources said Northern Command wanted to respond in a “far more aggressive manner” but the US was restraining their attacks.
That “restraint” is noteworthy given Israel has attacked Lebanon on a near daily basis, even though there is an active ceasefire the US is meant to be a guarantor of, and the US has not publicly criticized those attacks at all.
Lebanon is reeling from last year’s Israeli invasion, struggling to rebuild as Israel blocks reconstruction efforts and continues with deadly attacks, including an attack on a Palestinian refugee camp mosque on Tuesday, which killed at least 13 people.
Families of the victims in the Ain al-Hilweh camp are holding funerals and mourning the slain, with many locals referring to the attacks as a “massacre” and one of the largest Israeli massacres on the camp in recent memory.
While there is some international disquiet about the refugee camp killings, the US has been entirely silent on the matter. France expressed “concern” about the escalation, but only in the context of a statement calling on Israel to withdraw from their ongoing occupation of neighboring Syria. Lebanon, it seems, is a low priority, even if Israeli officials protest that they’re being “restrained” from what they are really inclined to do.
