Shooting at the American embassy in Beirut, Lebanon; Israel close to decision on Hezbollah offensive

A gunman was captured after opening fire on the US embassy in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on Wednesday. — an attack that came amid growing tensions on the country's border with Israel, as the close US ally signaled it could soon launch an offensive against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The Lebanese army said its forces responded to the incident Wednesday morning, returning fire on 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). She said her team was safe thanks to the “rapid response” of Lebanese forces and the embassy security team.

The identity of the suspect and his possible motives were not immediately clear, with the Lebanese army describing him only as a Syrian national.

Lebanon, which borders Israel to the north, has suffered years of economic misery and political chaos. Months of exchanges between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah took place alongside the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, launched several months ago following the Hamas attacks on October 7.

Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Tuesday that troops were ready to “launch an offensive in the north.”

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

Pressure has mounted on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act after rockets fired by the militant group sparked wildfires in the country's north this week.

Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border have been evacuated from their homes for months, as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah reached their worst level since the 2006 war.

The possibility of a new Israeli offensive in Lebanon has fueled fears of a wider conflict, after eight months of war that local officials say has already killed more than 36,000 people in Gaza. Some 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others taken hostage in the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to Israeli officials, which marked a major escalation in the decades-long conflict.

Some 120 people taken hostage are believed to remain detained in Gaza, and around a third of them have been confirmed dead.

The escalation with Hezbollah has increased internal pressure on Netanyahu from right-wing members of his government who have also threatened to resign if he accepts a ceasefire deal with Hamas outlined by President Joe Biden last week. “There can be no peace. in Lebanon while our land is affected and people here are evacuated,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a video statement shared on X following a visit to the town of Kiryat Shmona, in the north of the country.

“They are setting fire here, we must burn all the Hezbollah strongholds, destroy them. War!” he said in a commentary translated by Reuters.

Biden said in a surprise announcement Friday that he was presenting a truce proposal made by Israel and relayed by mediators to Hamas, but doubts existed about Israel's position, with a senior Israeli official telling NBC News that the The president's description of the proposal was “not precise.”

CIA Director William Burns is expected to return to Doha to meet with Qatar's prime minister, aiming to advance negotiations for a truce deal, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told NBC News. White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk will also travel to the region this week for further hostage negotiations, according to a US official. McGurk will also participate in discussions on Israel's latest moves in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, the official said. At a press briefing Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the United States remains “confident” that Israel “is prepared to implement this agreement,” which he said him, was proposed by the Israeli government.

“It is a fact that Israel accepted this proposal and now stands alongside Hamas,” he said.

Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian militant group, has previously said it would continue to strike Israel until its Gaza offensive ends.

In a rare and exclusive interview with NBC News in April, Naim Qassem, second-in-command of the political party and militia, said Hezbollah was determined not to intensify its attacks across Lebanon's southern border, but said declared that he would respond the same way to any Israeli. escalation.

“We didn't expect the war to last this long because we didn't think Netanyahu was so stupid, the same for (Biden) and other countries,” Qassem said at the time. The United States considers Hamas and Hezbollah to be terrorist groups.