US Secretary of State Says Lebanon-Israel Peace Deal Can Be Achieved, Hezbollah Is a Problem

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Department of State/Freddie Everett)

JAKARTA - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that peace between Israel and Lebanon could be achieved but the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, was the problem.

"In general, I think a peaceful agreement between Lebanon and Israel is very possible, and it should be," Rubio told reporters at the White House, Al Arabiya reported from Reuters (6/5).

"The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon, but rather Hezbollah," he added.

The Lebanese government wants a permanent deal with its US ally, Israel, that would end the cycle of repeated Israeli invasions and attacks, though it has not gone so far as to say it wants a peace deal.

Israel says any deal must permanently disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.

"What must happen in Lebanon, what everyone wants to see, is a Lebanese government that is able to pursue Hezbollah and disband Hezbollah," Rubio said.

It is known that Israel increased its air raids on Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on March 2, three days after the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran. After that, Israel expanded its ground invasion into southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said more than 2,600 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, with more than a million people displaced. Israel says 17 of its soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon while two civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a fragile ceasefire in mid-April which was then extended until May.

However, Israel still occupies southern Lebanon and destroys villages there, while Hezbollah continues to attack Israeli forces.

On the other hand, Tehran says any deal to end the wider Iran war must also stop Israel's attacks in Lebanon. Washington says the two issues are separate.