FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 2, 2024
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—According to reports, Israel carried out a drone strike in Beirut, Lebanon today which killed a Hamas official. Defense Priorities Policy Director Benjamin H. Friedman issued the following statement in response:
“Israel’s drone strike killing a top Hamas official, Saleh al-Arouri, along with several others, in Lebanon makes the escalation of its simmering conflict with Hezbollah more likely. An Israel war with Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, risks drawing the United States into another war in the Middle East. That is a prospect we should strive to avoid. Israel should defend itself without direct U.S. participation.
“The trouble in Lebanon comes as Israel’s war in Gaza escalates in several other places. The United States and the United Kingdom are reportedly threatening to attack the Houthis in Yemen if they do not stop drone and missile attacks on Red Sea shipping. The Houthis, who get arms and aid from Iran, say they are attacking Israeli shipping and will not stop until Israel allows more aid into Gaza. In Iraq and Syria, militias funded by Iran sporadically attack U.S. forces with mortars, rockets, and drones. Three U.S. soldiers were wounded in a drone attack in Iraq last week, and the U.S. response against Kataib Hezbollah reportedly killed several fighters. U.S. strikes against militias in both countries have failed to deter attacks on U.S. forces.
“Israel has a right to target Hamas members abroad, and the United States has a right to defend its forces in the region. Yet the flareups that threaten wider war for the United States confront us with the question of what U.S. interest is served by going to war for Israel, effectively on behalf of its war in Gaza. We might even ask if the prospect of U.S. support against Hezbollah encourages Israeli belligerence. Hence the United States should be clear that support for Israel will not include a shooting war on its behalf. We should cease missions in Iraq and Syria that put our troops pointlessly in harm’s way. And we should push a negotiated settlement with the Houthis. No U.S. friend or ally should expect us to fight wars that serve their interests and not ours.”
DEFP report: Withdraw U.S. forces from Syria and Iraq
DEFP explainer: Reset U.S.-Syria policy