如同以色列拜登政府周三敦促通过外交手段解决该国与真主党长期存在的冲突，为可能的地面入侵黎巴嫩奠定了基础，但据多名美国官员说，越来越多的人接受在中东第二战场全面开战。
两名官员告诉ABC新闻，政府至少已经提出一份旨在暂时停止冲突的提案草案但在这一点上，以色列已经表示，它打算推进作战计划，旨在通过消灭这个激进组织，结束与真主党在其北部边境几个月来针锋相对的交流。
“我无法详细说明我们正在做的一切，但我可以告诉你一件事:我们决心让我们在北部的居民安全返回家园，”以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡周三表示，他指的是自哈马斯10月7日袭击以色列后不久，真主党开始发射火箭弹以来流离失所的以色列人。
一名美国高级官员说，真主党发射了一枚弹道导弹，目标是特拉维夫附近的以色列情报机构摩萨德的总部，尽管以色列军队能够成功拦截导弹，但这只是加强了以色列政府的决心。
美国对真主党也没有什么影响力，因此不清楚该组织是否会遵守任何此类协议来停止战斗。奥巴马政府可能会依靠与真主党有直接联系的伙伴来遏制该组织，但过去一年来，所有阻止其袭击以色列的努力都没有成功。
尽管如此，高级官员表示，他们仍在寻求降级的“具体选项”，以色列驻联合国大使周二表示，以色列领导层仍然“持开放态度”。
五角大楼副新闻秘书萨布丽娜·辛格周三表示，以色列似乎不会对黎巴嫩进行地面入侵，这可能为谈判取得进展留出时间。
她说，“不描述以色列的行动，让他们自己来说，看起来不会有任何事情迫在眉睫。”
拜登政府还热衷于通过间接外交让伊朗这个真主党的主要军事和财政支持者置身事外。
“我们还必须协调合作，阻止伊朗破坏稳定的活动。我敦促我们所有人利用我们所拥有的影响力，迫使伊朗停止加剧紧张局势，”美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯周三在联合国与阿拉伯领导人会晤时表示。
但以色列过去一周在黎巴嫩的军事行动充分显示了以色列和美国之间的分歧。
以色列过去袭击真主党目标时，通常会提前通知美国。然而，拜登政府官员表示，在分发给该组织成员的数百台通信设备发生爆炸之前，他们没有收到任何警告。这次袭击被广泛认为是以色列发动的。
虽然以色列表示打算对黎巴嫩进行地面入侵，但它没有与美国分享详细的计划，这一动态令人想起以色列在加沙军事行动的早期。
缺乏透明度加剧了该地区美国人的担忧。美国国务院估计有8万多名美国公民居住在黎巴嫩，但不清楚有多少人听从了国务院7月份的建议离开了这个国家。
在周三发给仍在黎巴嫩的美国人的一封信中，国务院官员表示，他们将在周五就该国的安全局势举行电话会议，并敦促美国国民“在商业选择仍然可用的情况下”离开。
Biden administration floats pause in Israel-Hezbollah conflict amid fears of all-out war
AsIsraellaid the groundwork for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon, the Biden administration on Wednesday was urging diplomacy to resolve the country's long-simmering conflict with Hezbollah -- but growing increasingly resigned to full-blown warfare on a second front in the Middle East, according to multiple U.S. officials.
Two officials told ABC News that the administration has floated at leastone draft proposal aimed at temporarily halting the conflict, but at this point Israel has signaled it intends to move forward with battle plans aimed at ending months of tit-for-tat exchanges with Hezbollah across its northern border by decimating the militant group.
"I cannot detail everything we are doing, but I can tell you one thing: we are determined to return our residents in the north safely to their homes," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, referring to Israelis who have been displaced since Hezbollah began firing rockets shortly after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
One senior U.S. official said that Hezbollah's firing of a ballistic missile targeting the headquarters of Israel's intelligence service Mossad near Tel Aviv only intensified the Israeli government's resolve, even though Israeli forces were able to successfully intercept the missile.
The U.S. also has little leverage over Hezbollah, so it's unclear whether the group would abide by any such agreement to pause the fighting. The administration could potentially rely on partners with direct ties to Hezbollah to contain the group, but all of its efforts to halt its attacks on Israel over the last year have been unsuccessful.
Nevertheless, senior officials say they are still pursuing "concrete options" for de-escalation, and Israel's ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday that Israeli leadership remained "open-minded."
Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Wednesday that it didn’t appear an Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon was in the offing, potentially allowing time for negotiations make headway.
“Without characterizing Israeli operations and letting them speak to them for themselves, it doesn't look like anything is imminent,” she said.
The Biden administration is also fervently focused on keeping Iran -- a chief military and financial supporter of Hezbollah -- on the sidelines through indirect diplomacy.
"We also have to coordinate and work together to deter destabilizing activities by Iran. I urge all of us to use the leverage that we have to press Iran to stop fueling escalation," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a meeting with Arab leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday.
But Israel's military actions in Lebanon over the course of the last week have put the schism between Israel and the U.S. on full display.
When Israel has struck Hezbollah targets in the past, it has typically given the U.S. advanced notice. However, Biden administration officials say they did not receive any warning before hundreds of communication devices distributed to the groups' members exploded in an attack widely attributed to Israel.
While Israel has messaged its intention to conduct a ground incursion into Lebanon, it has not shared detailed plans with the U.S. -- a dynamic that echoes the early days of the country's military campaign in Gaza.
The lack of transparency has heightened concerns for Americans in the region. The State Department estimates that over 80,000 U.S. citizens live in Lebanon, but it's unclear how many heeded the department's July advisory to leave the country.
In a message to Americans still in Lebanon sent on Wednesday, State Department officials said they would hold a call on the security situation in the country on Friday and urged U.S. nationals to depart "while commercial options still remain available."
