A Gaza ceasefire is the best way to diffuse Israeli-Hezbollah violence, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, in the aftermath of the deadly strike by the Iranian proxy group that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams.
“It’s so important that we help diffuse that conflict” along Israel’s northern border, “not only to prevent it from spreading but to diffuse it,” Blinken told reporters during a press conference in Japan.“We’re determined to do that,” he added.
Israel has said that the missile was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 and has vowed to retaliate for the attack. It was Hezbollah’s deadliest strike during the more than nine months of cross-border violence between the IDF and Hezbollah.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the northern command, and Majdal Shams stated, “I was shown the plans for a possible response. Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, was behind the attack, and they cannot hide it, despite their ridiculous denials. They fired [at Israel], and they will bear a heavy price for their actions.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was wrapping up a weeklong visit to the United States, was in Washington at the time of the attack. In an unusual manner that highlighted the emergency nature of the situation, he left earlier than scheduled on Saturday, while it was still the Sabbath there, landing back at Ben-Gurion International Airport early Sunday afternoon.
He left immediately for the Defense Ministry complex in Tel Aviv, where he is expected to convene the security cabinet at about 4 p.m.
Deeply saddened by loss of life in Majdal Shaams
In Tokyo, Blinken said he was deeply saddened by the loss of life in Majal Shaams, stressing that “there is no justification for terrorism.
“Every indication is that, indeed, the rockets were from Hezbollah,” he added.
“We stand by Israel’s right to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks,” Blinken said.
“One of the reasons that we’re continuing to work so hard for ceasefire in Gaza is … so that we can really unlock an opportunity to bring calm, lasting calm, across the between Israel and Lebanon.”
“We’re determined to bring the Gaza conflict to a close. It’s gone on for far too long. It’s cost far too many lives. We want to see Israelis, we want to see Palestinians. We want to see Lebanese live free from the threat of conflict and violence,” he said.
The Lebanese government has asked the US to urge restraint from Israel, Lebanon’s foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters. Bou Habib said the US had asked Lebanon’s government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well.
Iran’s foreign ministry warned Israel on Sunday against what it called any new adventure in Lebanon. Syria’s foreign ministry said it held Israel “fully responsible for this dangerous escalation in the region” and said its accusations against Hezbollah were false.
The flare-up in the north, which threatened to escalate violence into a Third Lebanon War, came as CIA Director William Burns was set to hold high-level talks in Rome to close a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal that would include Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani, Egyptian Intelligence Chief Major General Abbas Kamel and Mossad Chief David Barnea.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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