Calls for a “diplomatic solution” that would allow residents on both sides of the border to return to their respective homes
September 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
US authorities have expressed their support for the Israeli government and have claimed its “right to defend itself” from attacks by the Shiite militia party Hezbollah, a group that has the support of Iran and with which the Israeli army has been exchanging fire and bombings for almost a year on both sides of the border.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant just hours before Israeli forces launched a new wave of attacks in southern Lebanon, killing 274 people so far.
In a statement, Austin said Israel has “the right to defend itself as Hezbollah extends its attacks further into Israeli territory,” but stressed the importance of “finding a path to a diplomatic solution that allows residents on both sides of the border to return safely to their homes as soon as possible.”
He also called for a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip to “bring back the hostages” kidnapped by the Palestinian armed group during the attacks on October 7, as stated in the Pentagon document.
“The United States remains committed to protecting American forces and personnel and remains determined to stop any regional actor seeking to exploit the situation or extend the conflict,” Gallant said during a call in which he used the opportunity to justify this new campaign of attacks, arguing that this is the only way to facilitate the return of displaced Israelis in the north to their homes.
The resurgence of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah has raised fears of the possibility of an expansion of the conflict in the Middle East. In this context, the Israeli army presented its “operational plans” regarding Lebanon to the United States last week.
Hostilities in the region erupted after Hamas and other Palestinian factions launched a series of attacks on Israel on October 7, leaving nearly 1,200 people dead and more than 240 hostages. The Israeli army then launched a bloody military campaign against Gaza that has so far left more than 41,450 dead, in addition to more than 700 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The October 7 attacks, dubbed the “Al-Aqsa Flood” by Hamas and its allies, also led to the opening of a front on the border between Israel and Lebanon, with constant fighting for more than eleven months. In addition, Houthi rebels in Yemen and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq have launched missiles and drones against Israel – which has carried out bombings against territory in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen – in response to its offensive against Gaza.
Tensions between Lebanon and Israel have continued to grow since last July, when Fuad Shukr, a senior member of the Shiite militia party Hezbollah, was killed in an attack on the Hared Hreik neighborhood in southern Beirut, blamed on Israeli forces.
Just last week, nearly 40 people were killed and some 3,000 injured when thousands of communications devices — including pagers and walkie-talkies — allegedly linked to the group exploded, an attack that both Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities blame on Israel.
On September 20, the Israeli army launched a “targeted attack” against areas in southern Beirut, killing Hezbollah operations chief Ibrahim Akil along with thirteen other members of the group. These attacks have continued over the past few days until Monday, when the Israeli army killed more than 270 people in a series of bombings against positions allegedly belonging to Hezbollah in the south of the neighbouring country.
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