Austin: US concerned with escalation between Israel and Hezbollah

2024-09-20 22:47:12, Kosova & Bota CNA

The American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, expressed on Friday again his concern about the escalation of the situation between Israel and Hezbollah, during a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant.

It was the sixth phone conversation between them this week, and Austin called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Israel announced on Friday that it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander and other key figures of the Lebanese militant group in an airstrike in Beirut.

The attack followed two days of attacks on the group, designated a terrorist organization by the US, during which members of the group's communications equipment, pagers and radios, exploded, killing 37 people and injuring thousands.

These attacks are believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither admitted nor denied involvement.

The Pentagon said in a statement that Austin reiterated to Gallant "his concern about the current escalation of the exchange of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah."

Earlier on Friday, Gallant wrote in X: "Actions in the new phase will continue until our goal is achieved: the safe return of the residents of the north [of Israel] to their homes."

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on October 8 in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is fighting Hamas - the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the US. and the EU.

Earlier on Friday, Hezbollah hit northern Israel with 140 rockets, a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed retaliation against Israel for deadly explosions of telecommunications equipment in Lebanon this week.

Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire almost every day since October 8, a day after the war between Israel and Hamas - the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union - began.

However, Friday's missile attack was larger than usual.

Nasrallah vowed on Thursday to continue daily attacks on Israel, despite this week's deadly attack on its members' communications equipment./ REL