FT: Israel's operation in Lebanon will not end before the US presidential election

Israel's expanding military operation in Lebanon is unlikely to end before the US presidential election scheduled for November 5. The Financial Times (FT) reported, citing Western officials.

“Two weeks ago the Israelis were talking about a limited ground invasion for a couple of weeks, but those two weeks seem to be stretching out,” one of them said. The current situation “does not give us optimism that Israel will stop before the U.S. elections,” the official said.

“We want them (the Israelis) to stop and agree to a political plan, which is already largely agreed upon, but it seems that having succeeded militarily, they will continue,” he added.

The publication notes that the changing rhetoric of Israel's political leadership and the extent of the evacuation of people from the border areas have raised growing doubts in the West about the imminent end of the Israeli operation.

Reprinted from https://news.am/