Senior US officials are traveling to Israel today in an effort to make progress on ending the wars in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the US State Department confirmed today.

“Two White House officials, Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, travel to Israel to discuss issues including a diplomatic solution to Lebanon, as well as ways to end the conflict in GazaState Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Amos Hochstein, President Biden’s envoy for Lebanon, and Brett McGurk, the White House’s Middle East adviser, will lead these talks with Israel.

The US, along with Egypt and Qatar, have been trying for months to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, more than a year after the start of the war triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 7, 2023.

Although Washington stopped short of urging Israel, which is counting on US diplomatic and military support, for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, it wants “a diplomatic solution that allows civilians in both Lebanon and Israel to return to their homes.” their homes,” according to Miller.

The spokesman insisted that the US is pressuring Israel to avoid causing “significant damage” to Lebanon.

“They have clearly stated that their campaign in Lebanon must not, cannot, be like the one they conducted in Gaza“, he emphasized.

Israel, which has been at war with Hezbollah since September, today intensified its shelling of the strongholds of the Shiite movement in Lebanon, which targeted the city of Baalbek, in the east, and in the south of the country.

Meanwhile, the United States today expressed its disappointment at the lack of response from Israel to its concerns about Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, mainly in Beit Lahia yesterday, Tuesday, where nearly 100 people were killed according to first aid agencies, among them women and children.

“We don’t have an explanation yet. They told us what they said publicly, that they are investigating the matter and we pressed them for an answer,” said Matthew Miller, adding: “They are not doing enough to give us the answers we have been asking for».