A senior US administration official told Fox News that the Israeli strike in Beirut has complicated negotiations for a hostage deal and was a clear attempt by Israel to sabotage the agreement, according to a report published Friday afternoon.
A senior US administration official told Fox News that the Israeli strike in Beirut on Tuesday has complicated the hostage negotiations, which the official described as a clear Israeli attempt to sabotage a potential deal. The remarks, reported Friday afternoon, mark a rare on-the-record accusation by a US official directly implicating Israel in undermining talks for the release of hostages held by Hamas. No official from the Israeli government or the IDF has yet responded to the allegation, and the identity of the US official was not disclosed in the report. The accusation comes amid deep divisions between Washington and Jerusalem over the conduct of the war in Gaza and the terms of any ceasefire-for-hostages agreement. As The Zioneer has reported, negotiations have been stalled for weeks over disagreements on the permanence of a ceasefire and the scope of an Israeli withdrawal. The strike in Beirut, attributed by Israeli media to the IDF, targeted a senior Hezbollah commander, according to reports from the region. The US official's characterization — that Israel deliberately acted to scuttle the talks — goes further than previous US statements, which had called for restraint on all sides. The claim is sourced to a single media report and remains unconfirmed by either the White House or the State Department as of publication.
3 developments
- DevelopingSpeculation: Israeli Beirut strike timed to signal displeasure with emerging US-Iran deal
- DevelopingIsrael Strikes Dahieh Amid Iran Deal Talks; Tehran Demands Israeli Restraint
- DevelopingIsraeli analyst explains strategic logic behind Dahieh strike, Iran's calculus
- StrongAmit Segal reports mixed US signals on Israeli Dahieh strike
Source and signal
- Internal intake