Israeli prime minister denies reports the US urged him not to target Hezbollah in pre-emptive attack

Decisions involving Israel's military operations are based on its own assessments and not influenced by other countries, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, following claims that he was dissuaded from launching a strike against Hezbollah on the advice of US President Joe Biden.  

"I have seen erroneous reports to the effect that the US prevented, and is preventing, us from operational actions in the region, this is incorrect. Israel is a sovereign state. Our decisions in the war are based on our operational considerations," Netanyahu told reporters at the beginning of a government meeting. 

"They are not dictated by external pressure. The decision on how to use our forces is an independent decision of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and nobody else," he said. 

Netanyahu's comments come after the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, citing unnamed officials, reported that in a phone call on October 11, US President Joe Biden “urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon days after Hamas militants’ Oct, 7 assault on southern Israel, warning that such an attack could spark a wider regional war.”

When asked by CNN about the WSJ report, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement Saturday that "this publication is wrong."

“As early as the first day of the war, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided that Israel will first act to achieve a clear victory in the south, while [working towards] fierce deterrence in the north. This policy was accepted by the cabinet," the statement said. 

During the media briefing, Netanyahu said he spoke with US President Joe Biden on Saturday. "I appreciate the steadfast US position – which supports our war effort – in the UN Security Council. I told President Biden yesterday that we will fight until absolute victory – however long that takes. The US understands this," he said