WASHINGTON, September 25. /TASS/. The US warned Israel days before its strikes on the facilities of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah that such actions could lead to war in the region, the Politico newspaper reported citing unnamed US and Israeli officials.

According to them, the US expressed the opinion that a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Hezbollah is still achievable, but the start of a military campaign could seriously undermine efforts to de-escalate the situation. The Israeli leadership, in turn, did not reject Washington's calls for a peaceful solution, but disagreed with the US position on how to achieve it. One of the publication's sources notes that the Israeli authorities told the US that the time has come to "escalate to de-escalate," meaning strikes on Hezbollah facilities in order to force the movement to participate in negotiations.

According to Politico, this was the first time in almost a year that the US and Israel "so starkly disagreed" on further strategy toward Hezbollah. According to the newspaper, such disagreements "raise questions" about the realism of US plans to end the conflict in the Middle East in the short term.

The conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement escalated again after multiple explosions of communication devices occurred in Lebanon on September 17 and 18. Hezbollah blamed the explosions on Israel; the Jewish state’s authorities did not openly comment on what happened but announced increased military operations in the north. Later, the Israeli Air Force started to carry out massive strikes on the border areas in southern Lebanon and also attacked the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant later announced an expansion of strikes on Hezbollah military facilities across Lebanon. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, the attacks have killed over 550 people and left more than 1,800 injured.