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Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, said that the overnight Israeli strike on Hezbollah prevented the escalation to a regional war.
“I believe that the success of our operation yesterday prevented an escalation to a major war. This threat is still there. We still need a settlement with Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon,” Herzog said in an interview with Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday morning.
“They followed Hamas by launching a war toward Israel on October 8th and have been firing thousands of rockets into Israel since then,” referencing a conflict that has waxed and waned in Israel’s north even as Israel-Hamas fighting has continued in Gaza since October.
He added, “We give a chance for diplomacy and we hope it works, but if not, we have nearly 70,000 people in Israel, northern Israel, away from their homes, refugees in their own country, and we have to make sure they can go back safely to their homes.”
Herzog also said that there may be momentum toward a deal in Cairo, where Hamas and Israeli representatives are set to attempt to reach a settlement. He said that Israeli representatives are currently in Cairo and they “certainly hope” to reach a deal that would bring the Israeli hostages home.
“As Secretary [Antony] Blinken said a few days ago, the U.S. put forward a bridging proposal, which was accepted by Israel, and now it’s up to Hamas to say if they accept it or not,” Herzog said. “So they did send their representative, but we still are not 100% sure that they are in the game. We certainly hope so. If that is the case, we can make progress toward a deal.”
Brennan noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made public comments that seem to contradict Israel’s acceptance of the deal, especially in regards to the Philadelphi corridor. Herzog responded that Israel is “not obliged to leave the Philadelphi corridor at this phase.”
“We are reducing our forces there. We had constructive talks in Egypt a few days ago,” Herzog said, adding that they are in phase one of a multiphase deal. “We are well coordinated with the U.S. Administration. We are awaiting for Hamas to see if they are in the game.”
Herzog also added that he believes Israel can avoid a direct attack by Iran, but that the United States has helped deter any attacks.
“I think the Iranians are contemplating an attack on Israel, but decided for now to put it on hold. I think the main reason for that was deterrent messages from Israel and the US and a very strong U.S. posture in the region, which tells you that you can deter them.”
