US envoy flies to Beirut in a surprise visit, says Washington doesn’t want Gaza war to expand

By BASSAM HATOUM and KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BLIDA, Lebanon (AP) — A top U.S. envoy said in Beirut that Washington doesn’t want the ongoing war in Gaza to expand to Lebanon after a Lebanese woman and her three granddaughters were killed in an Israeli strike two days ago. The comments Tuesday from Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, come during a previously unannounced visit to Beirut to discuss the volatile situation with Lebanon’s parliament speaker and caretaker prime minister. Hochstein’s comments came as the Israeli military and Hezbollah exchanged fire on Tuesday following what Israel said was the targeting of one of its posts along the Lebanese border. The clashes along the border have intensified since Israel launched a ground incursion into Gaza.