Amos Hochstein: Former Israeli Fighter Leading U.S. Efforts to Halt War in Lebanon

American Diplomat, Energy Expert, Israeli Fighter—these titles all describe Amos Hochstein, President Joe Biden's envoy to Lebanon. He previously led negotiations to demarcate maritime borders between Beirut and “Tel Aviv,” which culminated in the signing of an agreement in October 2022.

Hochstein is currently tasked with brokering a ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and “Israel,” bringing with him a proposal that “Israel” submitted to Washington in hopes of finding a diplomatic solution. However, this proposal may include conditions that Beirut could reject.

Biden's Envoy

Amid the ongoing war between Hezbollah and “Israel,” Amos Hochstein visited Beirut on October 21, 2024, where he met with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

In a statement from Beirut on October 21, Hochstein emphasized that merely discussing Lebanon and “Israel’s” commitment to United Nations Resolution 1701 is insufficient. He noted that the United States is working on a framework to resolve the conflict permanently.

Resolution 1701 mandates that the Lebanese army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are responsible for enforcing the ceasefire between “Israel” and Hezbollah.

Hochstein said he warned months ago about the need to resolve issues and end the ongoing war between Lebanon and “Israel,” but the situation has spiraled out of control.

“We are working with the government of Lebanon, the state of Lebanon, as well as the government of Israel to get to a formula that brings an end to this conflict once and for all,” he added during a press conference in Beirut.

Hochstein said the Lebanese people want to return to their homes safely; the U.S. has tried to contain the current crisis but all efforts have failed. He asserted that the world will stand by Lebanon and its leaders if they make courageous decisions.

“I’m back here in Beirut today for discussions with the government of Lebanon, Lebanese armed forces, other political leaders, and frankly, anyone else who is willing [and] able to play a critical role in setting Lebanon on a new course of strength, security, and stability, and ultimately, economic prosperity.”

Before arriving in Beirut, Axios reported on October 20, citing unnamed American officials, that Hochstein would carry a proposal “Israel” submitted to Washington for a diplomatic solution in Lebanon.

The proposal reportedly includes conditions allowing the Israeli army to conduct operations to ensure Hezbollah's disarmament, as well as permitting Israeli forces freedom of action in Lebanese airspace.

An American official indicated to Axios that it is unlikely Lebanon and the international community will agree to the Israeli conditions.

Israeli Fighter

Amos Hochstein was born in “Israel” in 1973 to American Jewish parents. He is an Orthodox Jew who attended the Yeshivat Netiv Meir High School in the occupied territories in 1987 before transferring to the Hartman Institute in occupied Jerusalem.

After graduating from high school, Hochstein served in the Israeli War Forces from 1992 to 1995 before moving to Washington, D.C. There, he married Julie Ray Ringel, a faculty member at Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies, and they have four children.

Before his work in American public interest lobbying and subsequent role at the State Department, Hochstein worked in Congress with Democratic Party politicians. At that time, he did not hesitate to advance his home country's (“Israel”) interests while officially representing his second country.

In 1999, Hochstein visited Baghdad with four other Americans, each representing a senator's office, marking the first visit of a U.S. legislative delegation to Iraq since the Gulf War in 1991.

After visiting several schools, hospitals, and infrastructure facilities, and meeting with Tareq Aziz, the then Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, all members of the delegation felt that the burden of the sanctions had fallen on the Iraqi people, rather than solely affecting Saddam Hussein’s regime as intended.

Hochstein stated at the time that the economic sanctions should remain in place but acknowledged the need for them to be “humanitarian.”

He proposed to Nizar Hamdoun, the Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister at the time, the possibility of resettling a few thousand Palestinians in central Iraq in exchange for lifting the economic sanctions on Saddam Hussein's regime.

Seven years after this visit, German diplomat Hans von Sponek, who was then the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, stated that he understood resettling Palestinians was a mission assigned to Hochstein, rather than an idea that he proposed on his own.

American Diplomat

Amos Hochstein spent 15 years advising elected officials in the United States, thought leaders, and private oil and gas companies on domestic and global energy policy initiatives.

He began working in the State Department's Office of Energy Resources in 2011 during the presidency of Barack Obama. In 2014, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy before becoming Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs.

In 2015, Obama nominated Hochstein to be Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, but the Senate took no action on the nomination. He then served as a close advisor to then-Vice President Joe Biden, having worked in his administration since 2011.

Hochstein acted as a mediator in the 2014 gas sales agreement between “Israel” and Jordan and visited Iraq the same year. He facilitated agreements for the export of oil from the Kurdistan region to Turkiye and Europe, persuading the Obama administration to support these efforts. As a result, “Israel” received a share of the oil through the Ashkelon port.

During Donald Trump's presidency from 2017 to 2021, Hochstein participated in various U.S. efforts, including sanctions against Iran, energy cooperation with India and China, strategies regarding Russia, and the war against ISIS.

In 2017, Amos Hochstein joined Tellurian, a private liquefied natural gas company based in Houston, Texas, where he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing until his departure in September 2020.

He has been a member of the boards of the Atlantic Council and the U.S.-India Business Council, and he previously served on the supervisory board of Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state oil and gas company, from which he resigned in October 2020.

Throughout his career, Hochstein has been an advisor responsible for lobbying on behalf of American and international oil and gas companies, as well as renewable energy-focused firms. In this role, he assisted companies in assessing potential new markets and developing alternative energy sources.

In August 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Hochstein's appointment as Senior Advisor for Energy Security, and he was later designated as Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security.

Following the outbreak of Operation al-Aqsa Flood in 2023 and Hezbollah's involvement in the conflict, Hochstein was appointed in 2024 as Special Envoy to Lebanon by President Joe Biden to help ease tensions between Hezbollah and “Israel.”