US officials heading to Israel to discuss Lebanon, Gaza deals

Senior US officials were traveling to Israel on Wednesday to seek progress on deals to end the Gaza and Lebanon wars, the State Department confirmed.

Amos Hochstein, the US pointman on Israel-Lebanon tensions, and Brett McGurk, the top White House official on the Middle East, will lead the talks with Israel.

The two "are traveling to Israel to engage on issues including a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, as well as how we get to an end to the conflict in Gaza," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

The United States has been seeking for months to seal a deal to end the Gaza war, which opened in October 2023 with Hamas's attack on Israel.

Washington has stopped short of urging Israel, which relies on US diplomatic and military support, for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon where it is pounding sites related to Hezbollah.

"We do ultimately want to see a ceasefire," Miller said.

"We want to see a diplomatic resolution that allows civilians both in Lebanon and Israel return to their homes," he said.

Miller said that the United States was pressing Israel to avoid "widespread damage" in Lebanon after it issued evacuation orders for the historic city of Baalbek.

"We have made clear that the campaign they're conducting in Lebanon should not, cannot, must not look like the campaign that they have conducted in Gaza."