Israeli minister says time running out for diplomatic solution with Hezbollah in Lebanon

JERUSALEM, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday that the window was closing for a diplomatic solution to the standoff with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon.
Gallant’s remarks came as the White House Special envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel to discuss the crisis on the northern border where Israeli troops have been exchanging missile fire with Hezbollah forces for months. “The possibility for an agreed framework in the northern arena is running out,” Gallant told Austin in a phone call. On Monday, Israeli media reported that the head of the army’s northern command had recommended a rapid border operation to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has said it does not seek a wider war at present but would fight if Israel launched one.

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