The American administration fears that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to expand the war on Gaza to Lebanon, and enter into a comprehensive war against Hezbollah, with the aim of keeping him in office.

Today, Sunday, the Washington Post newspaper quoted American officials as saying that Netanyahu may seek to expand the war, contrary to the advice of the US administration, “as a basis for his political survival against the backdrop of internal Israeli criticism of his government’s failure to prevent the October 7 attack.” Officials expected that the Israeli army would face difficulties in a war against Hezbollah.

American officials told the Washington Post that Hezbollah wants to avoid a major escalation in the war with Israel, and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah confirmed in a speech on Friday the party’s intention to respond to the Israeli aggression (the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri in the southern suburb of Beirut), and at the same time He himself hinted at the possibility of negotiations regarding demarcating the borders with Israel to restore the occupied Shebaa Farms lands.

The newspaper indicated that secret estimates prepared by the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) indicated that the Israeli army is expected to face difficulties in achieving its goals in the war against Hezbollah, in parallel with the continuation of the war on Gaza, while much of the resource is distributed on several fronts.

An official at the US National Security Council considered that Hezbollah poses a "legitimate threat" to Israel, and said that "the Jewish state has the right to defend itself."

“The risk of Israel launching an attack on Hezbollah has never gone away, but there has been broader concern about escalation in recent weeks, especially since Israel announced a temporary withdrawal of several thousand troops from Gaza,” White House and State Department officials said.

The official explained that "the Military Intelligence Agency assessed that the escalation in Lebanon would lead to the dispersal of Israeli forces."

He said, "The pilots are tired, and the planes must be maintained and re-equipped. They will face more dangerous missions in Lebanon than in Gaza, where Hamas has few anti-aircraft defenses that would enable it to shoot down attacking planes (unlike what Hezbollah has)." 

The report was based on the statements of more than 12 diplomats and US administration officials. They pointed out that the American fear is that a large-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah would cause much greater human losses and damage than the Second Lebanon War in 2006, based on the size of Hezbollah’s missile arsenal, especially long-range and accurate missiles.

According to the newspaper, Hezbollah will attack areas deep inside Israel, on a larger scale than attacks in the past, and strike “sensitive targets” such as petrochemical industries and nuclear reactors. It is also estimated that Iran will use militias and other arms in the region.

The head of the “National Camp” bloc and the minister who is a member of the Israeli war cabinet, Benny Gantz, commented on the American newspaper’s report, and wrote in his account on the “X” platform, “The situation in which the residents of the northern borders are unable to return to their homes requires a quick solution.” The world must remember that the one who started the escalation was the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”

Gantz repeated the Israeli claim that "Israel is interested in a political solution. If this does not happen, the State of Israel and the Israeli army will remove this threat. All members of the war cabinet are partners in this position. The only consideration is Israel's security. This is the duty of any state towards its citizens."