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Lloyd Austin reiterates support for Israel in call with Yoav Gallant
The US defence secretary spoke with his Israeli counterpart on Wednesday to “review regional security developments” and reiterate “unwavering US support for Israel in the face of threats from Iran, Lebanese [Hezbollah], and Iran’s other regional partners”.
Austin reaffirmed the US’s “commitment to deterring regional adversaries and efforts to deescalate tensions across the region” and called for an “enduring diplomatic resolution to the conflict on the Israel-Lebanon border”, the Pentagon said.
The call comes after thousands of electronic devices linked to Hezbollah have exploded across Lebanon in successive days, in a suspected Israeli espionage operation that has killed more than two dozen people.
It's all an act. The US only tries to stop retaliation to Israel's aggression, selling it as de-escalation. The threat is Israel, with the US right behind.
US tightlipped on what it did or did not know about attacks in Lebanon
It is being widely reported here in the US media that the US had advance notice of a second attack inside Lebanon. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby will not confirm that the US was aware of the second attack.
He will admit that there was a phone call that took place on Tuesday between the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant. He would only say that there was a discussion that took place.
But in terms of the details, he would not elaborate.
What the Biden administration is saying is that it is still working to avoid an escalation in the region. Already, we know that the Biden administration has had its special envoy, Amos Hochstein, in the region speaking with Israeli officials, trying to discourage an escalation. And the official line from Kirby is that there is an effort to ensure there is no further escalation.
The policy of the White House is that the best way to resolve the conflict in northern Israel as well as in Gaza is through diplomacy, and the US is still committed to pursuing those efforts.
