US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has cautioned his Israeli counterpart that any escalation with Lebanon’s Hezbollah could have a “devastating” impact on the people of Israel, Lebanon and the region.
Austin spoke to Yoav Gallant on Sunday after Yemen’s Houthis carried out a ballistic missile against Israel and as cross-border exchanges continued between Hezbollah and Israel along the Lebanon-Israel border.
While Austin reinforced the United States’ “ironclad commitment” to Israel’s security and its right to self-defense, he also reaffirmed the need for a ceasefire deal in Gaza that would see an end to almost one year of fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.
Austin advised Gallant that Israel should give diplomatic negotiations time to succeed, “noting the devastating consequences that escalation would have on the people of Israel, Lebanon, and the broader region,” the Pentagon said in a readout of the call.
Israel has threatened to escalate its campaign in southern Lebanon to push back Hezbollah fighters away from the border. A senior White House envoy was in Israel on Monday to discuss the possibility of a US-backed deal that would prevent an escalation of the fighting.
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