Israel’s Defense Minister Says U.S. Pressure Forced Shift in Strategy Against Hezbollah

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said U.S. government pressure led the Israeli military to change its operational strategy toward Lebanon’s Hezbollah. According to Jin10, Katz disclosed the details in a closed-door conversation with military reporters. Katz said the shift was influenced by U.S. pressure and by Washington’s policy of linking Iran and Lebanon. He stated that after U.S. President Donald Trump chose to “bundle” the Iran situation with the Lebanon situation, the Israeli military then stopped bombing Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. Katz said this linkage fully aligned with what he described as “U.S. strategic interests” and represented an “external constraint” Israel had to accept in order to maintain its partnership with the United States. Katz also said that before the United States and Iran signed a related memorandum of understanding, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held multiple phone calls with Trump. Katz said the U.S. side applied “strong pressure” on Netanyahu during those calls, which he said ultimately facilitated the linkage between the Iran and Lebanon situations.