(18 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beirut, Lebanon – 18 June 2024
1. Wide of senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, walking into building
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Amos Hochstein, senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden:
“The conversations that I had here today in Beirut and the ones that I had yesterday in Israel, both are being conducted because the situation is serious. We have seen a escalation over the last few weeks and what the (US) President (Joe) Biden wants to do is to avoid a further escalation to a greater war.”
3. Various of Hochstein with Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Amos Hochstein, senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden:
“But let me be clear, the conflict along the blue line between Israel and Hezbollah has gone on for long enough. Innocent people are dying, property is damaged, families are shattered and the Lebanese economy continues to decline. The country is suffering for no good reason. It’s in everyone’s interest to resolve it quickly and diplomatically.”
5. Various of. Hochstein and Berri
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Amos Hochstein, senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden:
“The deal that President Biden outlined on May 31 would provide for the release of hostages and immediate ceasefire and ultimately the end of the conflict in Gaza. This proposal has been accepted by Israel, endorsed by Qatar and Egypt, the mediators, the G7 and the United Nations Security Council. The deal stops the war in Gaza, it lays out the schedule for the withdrawal of forces. If that’s what Hamas wants they should just say yes and accept it.”
7. Various of Hochstein and Berri
STORYLINE:
A senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Hamas to accept the latest Washington-backed proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Amos Hochstein made the comments during a visit to Beirut as part of an American diplomatic push to contain conflict in the region, with clashes between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah increasing in recent weeks.
“The situation is serious. We have seen an escalation over the last few weeks and what the president Biden wants to do is to avoid a further escalation to a greater war," Hochstein told reporters in Beirut after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who frequently acts as a conduit between Washington and Hezbollah.
"The conflict along the blue line between Israel and Hezbollah has gone on for long enough … it’s in everyone’s interest to resolve it quickly and diplomatically,” he added.
Cross-border attacks by Israel and Hezbollah have been taking place almost daily since the Israel-Hamas war began in October and escalated dramatically last week after Israel killed a high-ranking Hezbollah commander in a strike in south Lebanon.
Hezbollah stepped up its own attacks on northern Israel in response.
The fighting has displaced tens of thousands on each side of the border.
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed over 400 people since October, most of them militants with Hezbollah and allied groups, but the dead also include more than 80 civilians and non-combatants.
On the Israeli side, 15 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed.
AP video shot by: Fadi Al Tawil
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