From Gaza to Lebanon, Netanyahu – not Biden – is setting the agenda in the Middle East

Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s longtime leader reinforced its belief that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been setting the agenda in the Middle East in recent months and that a frustrated Biden White House is unable to shape events or calm the spreading conflict in the region.

Biden administration officials felt blindsided by Israeli airstrikes on Friday in southern Beirut that killed Hassan Nasrallah and other senior Hezbollah figures, current and former officials say.

In the days before the Israeli attack, Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled extensively between delegations in New York during the UN General Assembly session, trying to finalize a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

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The Biden administration was so confident of the proposal’s success that a senior administration official briefing reporters after its public debut suggested that approval by both sides was a foregone conclusion.

U.S. and European officials believed they were closing in on a possible agreement, but then images appeared on television of a huge cloud of smoke rising over southern Beirut.

President Joe Biden, senior Pentagon leaders and other senior administration officials were furious over the timing of the Israeli government’s operation, U.S. officials say.

Continued Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, which Lebanese health officials say have killed more than 1,000 people in two weeks, have reinforced the administration’s fears that Netanyahu’s aggressive approach could set off a chain reaction, leading to a broader regional war that could draw in the United States.

The White House said in a statement Saturday that the strike that killed Nasrallah brought “justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese civilians.”

But he also called for the de-escalation of the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon through “diplomatic means” and said it was time for all parties to accept the proposed ceasefire agreements on the table for Gaza and Lebanon.

Facing another failed U.S.-led attempt to lower the temperature, Blinken once again urged Israel to choose diplomacy, warning that the alternative would lead to “greater instability and uncertainty, the effects of which will be felt around the world.”

“The choices that all parties will make in the coming days will determine the path this region follows, which will have serious consequences for its people now and perhaps in the years to come,” he added. Blinken said Friday in remarks after the attack that was later confirmed to have killed Nasrallah.