Shea Levin — text status

Former Biden Middle East adviser Brett McGurk revealed that Israel came close to launching a major operation against Hezbollah’s leadership on October 11, 2023, just four days after the October 7 massacre, amid fears Hezbollah was preparing a similar invasion from Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post reports. McGurk said Washington urged Israel to hold off after receiving a back-channel message through a Norwegian intermediary from Iran’s IRGC, indicating that Hezbollah would not open a ground front against Israel unless Israel attacked first.