“We do not support a total war”

June 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United States Government has reiterated this Tuesday its position in favor of diplomatic channels in the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah, after an Israeli war cabinet minister assured that they will resolve the situation on the northern border. , bordering Lebanon, through an “agreement” with the authorities of the neighboring country or through “an escalation” of attacks.

“We do not support an all-out war with Hezbollah. We do not want that to happen. That said, Israel has the right to defend itself from attacks by Hezbollah, which is a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel and has launched attacks against Israel for years. So has the right to defend itself and confront that threat,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller during a press conference.

However, he noted that Israeli leaders have advocated a diplomatic solution. “And obviously that is the solution that we also prefer and that we are trying to achieve,” he stated, after pointing out that an open war “is not a sustainable situation for Israel” because “tens of thousands of its citizens are displaced from their homes.”

In this context, the spokesperson for US diplomacy, who has highlighted the option of resolving the situation through diplomatic means, has stated that Washington wants “a ceasefire to be agreed upon in Gaza” that would allow “a diplomatic resolution to be sought” in the northern border. “A war in the north would affect its resources, which have already been affected by the conflict in Gaza,” he said.

Thus, he has considered that attacking Gaza added to waging a war in the north and “instability” in the West Bank would be a situation that “exhausts them diplomatically, economically and militarily”, so it is not a “strategic success for them.” . “Now, if we don’t achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, if there continue to be attacks in the north, I don’t know what will happen,” he said.

In this sense, he pointed out that achieving “calm” in Gaza will “dramatically” increase his chances of “calming the situation in the north, which does not need to be at the level it is today.” “It was not at this level before October 7. There has always been tension along that border and attacks and even wars, but there has been an increase after October 7 that, if we reach an agreement in the Strip, will give us possibilities to resolve”, he concluded.

These statements have taken place after Israel’s war cabinet minister Benny Gantz assured that the Israeli Government will resolve the situation on the northern border through an “agreement” with the authorities of the neighboring country, or through “an escalation” in the attacks, hoping that after the summer the situation on the northern border will be resolved.

“We cannot waste any more time,” said Gantz, who is not part of the Executive but whom Netanyahu included in the war cabinet after the attacks by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7.

The Israeli Army and Hezbollah – backed by Iran and which has significant political weight in Lebanon – have been engaged in a series of clashes since October 8, a day after the attacks carried out by Hamas, which left nearly 1,200 dead. dead and some 240 kidnapped, according to the balance sheets provided by the Israeli authorities.