Blinken warns against ‘escalatory actions’ in Mideast, cites risk to Gaza deal
But State Department spokesman says ‘as long as Hezbollah is launching attacks, of course Israel is going to defend itself as any country would’; Austin said to delay Israel trip
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged against “escalatory actions by any party” in the Middle East, following the attacks that saw communications devices used by Hezbollah explode en masse, which the Lebanese terror group blamed on Israel.
“France and the United States are united in calling for restraint and urging de-escalation when it comes to the Middle East in general and when it comes to Lebanon in particular,” Blinken said after talks in Paris with French counterpart Stephane Sejourne.
“We don’t want to see any escalatory actions by any party” that would endanger the goal of a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, he added.
Meanwhile, the Walla news site reported that due to the events in Lebanon and on the border in recent days, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin decided to postpone a planned visit to Israel next week. It cited two unnamed Israeli officials.
The first round of attacks took place on Tuesday when at least 12 people were killed and thousands injured as pagers held by Hezbollah members across Lebanon exploded in what appeared to be a widescale, coordinated attack. A fresh wave of explosions ripped across Lebanon on Wednesday, appearing to target mainly handheld radios used by Hezbollah members, killing at least 25 people and injuring at least 450, according to Lebanese officials.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, in a speech following the wave of explosions, vowed to keep fighting Israel “until the aggression on Gaza stops,” but conceded the terror group had suffered a “major and unprecedented” blow.
The US State Department referred to Nasrallah’s remarks Thursday when explaining Blinken’s call against “escalatory actions.”
“Nasrallah could stop the terrorist attacks across Israel, and I guarantee you, if he did that, we would be impressing upon Israel the need to maintain calm on their end,” Miller said.
“The bottom line is, he hasn’t stopped those terrorist attacks, and so as long as Hezbollah is launching terrorist attacks across the border, of course, Israel is going to launch military action to defend itself as any country would,” he added.
“What we continue to push to all the parties is not to escalate the conflict, not to let it spiral out of control into a war that we don’t think serves either side’s interests, and to ultimately try to get to a ceasefire in Gaza that would help bring calm across the Blue Line,” Miller said.
Israeli leaders over the past week expressed their belief that only military action can bring an end to the clashes along the northern border. Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 22 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 478 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 79 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
