From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 14, 2023
US defense secretary slams Hezbollah in latest call with Israeli counterpart
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin condemns Hezbollah in an apparent escalation of US rhetoric against the Lebanese terror group.
During his latest call with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, Austin calls out Hezbollah for “threatening communities in Israel and called for calm along the blue line.”
The line stands out in the US readout, given that it doesn’t appear to be a regurgitation of Biden administration talking points.
Previous US readouts of the regular calls between Austin and Gallant that mention northern border tensions have generally only stressed the defense secretary’s concerns regarding the possibility of a flare-up.
The latest readout clearly points a finger at Hezbollah as responsible for the conflict on Israel’s northern border.
