Former US Middle East envoy sees hope for peace as Hezbollah reels

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The death of Hezbollah's long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah may provide an opening for peace, former US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross has said.

In a matter of weeks, Israel has eviscerated Hezbollah's command structure, leaving the powerful Lebanese militant group reeling as it looks to counter Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon.

“Hezbollah is in a state of shock and complete disarray, and the most important proxy for Iran is now weakened and vulnerable,” Mr Ross told The National's new show, The Interview: With Willy Lowry. “The Lebanese state might be able to reassert itself.”

Mr Ross believes that without Hezbollah, Iran’s grip and influence on the region would be severely diminished. “You weaken Iran and its most important proxy, its ability to be a troublemaker goes down,” he said.

Still, the former envoy, who played a key role in Middle East peace processes during the George W Bush and Bill Clinton administrations, said Iran and Hezbollah would try to recoup their losses.

"All the more reason to try to reassert Lebanese sovereignties throughout all this territory now and find a way to bring an end to the war in Gaza.”

While the war in Gaza rages on, Israel has shifted much of its focus north to Lebanon. Its “ground operation” there is aimed at pushing Hezbollah from the border so it can return more than 60,000 Israelis, who were forced to leave their communities following the Hamas attacks of October 7 in fear that Hezbollah would try something similar.

In the early days of Israel's attacks on Lebanon, Washington initially pushed for a ceasefire, but since the killing of Nasrallah has been supportive of Israel’s efforts to dismantle the Lebanese militant group.

Israel has said it would carry out “limited, localised and targeted ground raids” in Lebanon aimed at defeating Hezbollah. However, on Thursday, the Lebanese Armed Forces engaged with Israeli soldiers after an Israeli strike on an army outpost killed a Lebanese soldier.

Mr Ross said US support for Israel's invasion could falter if it turns into something larger or lasts a long time. Israel has invaded Lebanon three times in the past.

“If there was a sustained invasion, and they got bogged down there and expected continual American support, in that context, it would be increasingly difficult for the American administration to be doing that,” Mr Ross said.