As tensions between Israel and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, which Iran backs, continued to rise, the United States issued a warning to all parties in the Middle East on Thursday, September 19, emphasizing that Washington's top goal is to find a diplomatic solution, according to Reuters.
State Department spokeswoman Matthew Miller said at a routine briefing, "We will continue to stand by Israel's right to defend itself, but we don't want to see any party escalate this conflict, period."
The fatal attacks that destroyed Hezbollah's radios and pagers in Lebanon, caused over 3,000 injuries, overloaded Lebanese hospitals, and wrecked gory devastation on the organization have alarmed the Middle East.
While calling for calm, Miller acknowledged the limits of US diplomacy.
"We have been engaged in the region for some time, and of course, since October 7th we have been engaged to try to bring down tensions. But ultimately, yes, every country is responsible, and every entity is responsible for their actions."
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's scheduled travel to Israel for next week has been postponed, according to an individual familiar with the situation. Miller stated that Washington would keep conversing with Israel but declined to comment on Austin's timetable.
"I will say that we continue to engage with our Israeli counterparts on this. As publicly reported, Amos Hochstein was just in Israel on Monday, pressing the need for de-escalation, pressing the need for a diplomatic resolution," Miller said.
Amos Hochstein, the Special Envoy of the White House, travelled to Israel this week to talk about the situation at the northern border, where Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters have been exchanging rocket fire for months.
The device explosions have been attributed to Israel by Lebanon and Hezbollah, whose leader Hasan Nasrallah claimed that Israel "crossed all red lines" in the incident. According to security officials, Israel's Mossad espionage service, which has a lengthy history of executing highly skilled attacks on foreign territory, is most likely responsible for the attacks.
