Shooting outside the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon; Israel is “prepared for tough measures against Hezbollah,” Netanyahu says

A gunman was arrested on Wednesday following a shooting outside the US embassy in the Lebanese capital Beirut – the attack came as US ally Israel signaled it may soon launch an offensive in the country against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned early Wednesday that Israel was “prepared for very intense action in the north” as he visited a border town ravaged by forest fires sparked by Hezbollah rockets.

The escalation has increased pressure on Netanyahu from right-wing members of his administration, who have also threatened to resign if he agrees to the US-backed ceasefire proposal. President Joe Biden criticized Netanyahu in an interview published on Tuesday but also dispatched senior advisers to the region for new talks with mediators as Washington pushes for a deal that ends eight months of fighting in Gaza and secures the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Shooting at the US Embassy

The Lebanese army said its forces responded to an attack on the U.S. embassy in Beirut on Wednesday morning and fired back at a suspect who was taken to a local hospital with injuries.

The U.S. Embassy said “small arms fire” was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET). It said its team was safe thanks to the “quick response” of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the embassy’s security team.

The suspect’s identity and possible motive were not immediately clear; the Lebanese military described him only as a Syrian national.

A deadly bomb attack on the US embassy in Beirut in 1983 killed 63 people. US authorities blame Hezbollah for the attack. The facility was subsequently relocated to a suburb in the north of the capital.

Lebanon, which borders Israel to the north, has suffered from economic hardship and political chaos for years.

Parallel to the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which began after the Hamas attacks on October 7, months of clashes took place between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday that troops were ready to “go on an offensive in the north.”

“We are approaching a decision point,” he said in a recorded statement.

Pressure on Netanyahu to take action this week has increased after rockets fired by the militant group sparked wildfires in the region.

“One way or another, we will restore security in the North,” Netanyahu said this on Wednesday during a visit to Kiryat Shmona.

“There can be no peace in Lebanon as long as they are causing destruction here,” said its hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, in a video statement after a tour of the northern city. “We must burn and destroy all Hezbollah strongholds. WAR!”

Ceasefire talks

Ben-Gvir has threatened to overthrow Netanyahu’s government if it agrees to a ceasefire proposal outlined in Biden’s surprise announcement on Friday, raising doubts about Israel’s stance even as the families of the remaining hostages push for a deal.

CIA Director William Burns is expected to return to Doha to meet with Qatar’s prime minister and advance ceasefire negotiations, a source familiar with the negotiations told NBC News.

Brett McGurk, the White House Middle East coordinator, is also traveling to the region again this week for more hostage talks, a U.S. official said. McGurk will also participate in talks on Israel’s recent movements in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the official said.

In a briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Matt Miller said the U.S. remains “convinced” that Israel is “ready to implement this agreement.” He said the agreement was proposed by the Israeli government.

“The simple fact is that Israel has agreed to this proposal and is now on the side of Hamas,” he said.

In an interview with TIME magazine conducted on May 28 and published Tuesday, Biden said there was “every reason” to believe Netanyahu was prolonging Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip for political reasons.

Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian militia, had previously stated that it would continue to attack Israel until its offensive in the Gaza Strip was over.

In a rare and exclusive interview with NBC News in April, Naim Qassem, the deputy commander of the political party and militia, said Hezbollah was determined not to increase its attacks across Lebanon’s southern border, but would respond in kind to any escalation by Israel.

“We did not expect the war to last so long because we did not think Netanyahu was so stupid, the same goes for (Biden) and the other countries,” Qassem said at the time. The US considers both Hamas and Hezbollah to be terrorist groups.

Hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border have been forced to flee their homes for months as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have sunk to their worst levels since the 2006 war.

The possibility of a new Israeli offensive in Lebanon has fuelled fears of a wider conflict after eight months of war in the Gaza Strip, which has left more than 36,000 people dead, according to local authorities.

Israeli forces said on Wednesday they had launched new operations in the areas of the Bureij refugee camp and east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where many people have fled seeking shelter from the military’s intensified offensive in Rafah.

According to Israeli authorities, around 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage in the Hamas attacks on October 7. This was a significant escalation of the decades-long conflict. Around 120 hostages are believed to still be held in Gaza, and around a third of the hostages are confirmed dead.