WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - After weeks of intensive diplomacy aimed at securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants, the United States has settled on an altogether different approach: let the unfolding conflict in Lebanon play out.
Just two weeks ago, the United States and France were demanding an immediate 21-day ceasefire to ward off an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. That effort was derailed by Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Syed Hassan Nasrallah, the Oct. 1 launch of Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon and Israeli airstrikes that have wiped out much of the group's leadership.
Now, U.S. officials have dropped their calls for a ceasefire, arguing that circumstances have changed.
"We do support Israel launching these incursions to degrade Hezbollah's infrastructure so ultimately we can get a diplomatic resolution," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a press briefing earlier this week.
The course change reflects conflicting U.S. goals - containing the ever-growing Middle East conflict while also severely weakening Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The new approach is both practical and risky.
The US and Israel would benefit from the defeat of a common enemy - Hezbollah, which Tehran uses to threaten Israel's northern border - but encouraging Israel's widening military campaign risks a conflict that spins out of control.
Jon Alterman, a former State Department official, said the U.S. wants to see Hezbollah weakened but must weigh that against the risk of “creating a vacuum” in Lebanon or provoking a regional war.
Washington's approach, he said, seems to be: "If you can't change the Israeli approach, you might as well try to channel it in a constructive way."
A VIRTUE OF NECESSITY
Israel's latest fight with Hezbollah started when the group fired missiles at Israeli positions immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas gunmen on Israel that triggered the Gaza war. Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire ever since.
As months of indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas went nowhere, Israel in September began ramping up its bombardment of Hezbollah and landed painful blows on the group, including remotely detonating Hezbollah pagers and radios, wounding thousands of the group's members.