Israel denies that Biden dissuaded the prime minister from attacks on Hezbollah.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies media reports that American President Joe Biden in October dissuaded Israel from launching a preemptive strike on the forces of the Shiite Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.

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The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, previously reported that Biden persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Shiite Hezbollah movement in Lebanon days after a high-profile attack by Hamas militants. According to the newspaper, Israel had intelligence that Hezbollah forces were preparing to cross the border with Israel to carry out attacks on several fronts at once. Israeli military aircraft were scrambled and awaiting orders to launch strikes, but Biden’s call to Netanyahu on October 11 changed things.

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According to the Times of Israel, Netanyahu’s office called the WSJ article “incorrect.”

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“Already on the first day of the war, Netanyahu decided that Israel should first work to achieve a decisive victory in the south (in the Gaza Strip), while repelling an attack in the north. This policy was approved by the military cabinet,” the newspaper quotes a statement from the prime minister’s office.