Blinken: ‘Real sense of urgency’ to reach diplomatic solution in Israel-Hezbollah conflict

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says there is a real sense of urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution to end the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.

The top US diplomat is in Britain meeting Arab leaders, following a tour of the Middle East earlier this week, his first to the region since Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel which triggered the conflict across the Middle East.

“We have a sense of real urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, such that there can be real security along the border between Israel and Lebanon,” Blinken says, referring to a resolution in place following the last major Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

“Meanwhile, we want to make sure we want to see civilians protected. We want to make sure that Lebanese armed forces are not caught in the in the crossfire,” he says.

Blinken tells reporters he is “intensely engaged” in the matter.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 requires that the Lebanese Armed Forces be the only force with arms in southern Lebanon. The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither UNIFIL peacekeepers nor the LAF willing to challenge the Iran-backed terror group.