LONDON, October 10. /TASS/. Israel's expanding military operation in Lebanon is unlikely to end before the US presidential elections scheduled for November 5, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing Western officials.

"Two weeks ago the Israelis were talking about a limited ground incursion for a couple of weeks, but that two weeks seems to be extending all the time," one Western official said. "There is little optimism of Israel stopping soon before the US elections," he said.

"We want them [the Israelis — TASS] to stop now and agree to a political plan which is already broadly agreed. But it looks like, because they’re having such success militarily, they will keep going until they feel they are getting diminishing returns," the official said.

The publication notes that the change in the rhetoric of the Israeli political leadership and the scale of the evacuation of the population from the border areas are causing increasing doubt in the West regarding the imminent completion of the Israeli operation.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking hostages. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave. On September 23, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Northern Arrows against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah Shia movement, carrying out massive airstrikes on its military targets. On September 30, Israel announced the start of a limited ground operation in the border areas of southern Lebanon.