President Joe Biden reaffirmed his support for Israel's security against all threats from Iranian-backed forces, including Hezbollah, earlier on Thursday during a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior administration official said.
According to the official, the two leaders discussed the arrangements in the North that would allow Israeli families and Lebanese families to return safely to their homes.
"This is a shared priority of the United States and Israel," the official said. "This is something we remain very focused on and the President has been directly involved in."
Biden wants to find a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah which he reaffirmed again on the call Thursday, the official said, adding that Israel also wants to find a diplomatic arrangement.
"We want an agreement that provides security and assurances to civilians to return to their homes and then believe that they will be safe, and we have worked for months on this," according to the official.
US pushes for Gaza ceasefire
The official said the administration "fundamentally" rejects the logic that what Hezbollah is doing is related to Gaza. However, a ceasefire in Gaza would open up an opportunity for de-escalation in the North.
"We're going to negotiate this as we've done the Maritime Boundary deal, the first agreement ever between Lebanon and Israel, with our facilitation and mediation of two countries still technically in a state of war," the official said.
The US is "working this out" through the Lebanese and Israelis, but obviously, Hezbollah has to agree to the arrangements, the official noted.
"We're going to try to find an arrangement diplomatically negotiated, that allows families to return to their homes," according to the official. "If we can't, Israel will continue to defend itself against these attacks. And like we have said, we will stand by Israel and no question about it."