US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.Photo: armyinform.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had a telephone conversation with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant, during which he expressed deep concern about the deteriorating situation in Lebanon. Austin especially stressed the danger to UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) in Naqoura after the shelling, as well as the reports of the death of two Lebanese army soldiers. This was reported by israelinfo.
Austin stressed the importance of ensuring security for both the UN military contingent in southern Lebanon and the Lebanese National Army. Washington has long supported the Lebanese army by providing it with weapons and financial assistance, seeing it as the only stable institution in the country and an important counterweight to Hezbollah, despite the fact that a significant part of its composition consists of Shiites.
At the same time, the leaders of France, Italy and Spain expressed their strong protest against the attacks on peacekeepers, stressing that these actions cannot be justified. The Israeli army (IDF) has stated that Hizballah militants are operating under the cover of UNIFIL bases, posing a threat to the safety of Israeli soldiers.
Lloyd Austin called on Israel to move from military action to diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict in Lebanon as soon as possible. He also drew attention to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and stressed the need to change the approach to resolving this issue.
