United States – US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, yesterday, Sunday, called on his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, to take the necessary measures to “ensure the security” of the United Nations Interim Peace Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese Armed Forces.
The call from Austin, whose country provides billions of dollars in support to Israel, came during a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, according to a statement by the US Department of Defense.
On October 10, the peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, UNIFIL, announced that two soldiers from the peacekeeping force in Lebanon were injured as a result of the Israeli army targeting a watchtower for the UN forces in Lebanon.
One day later, the Israeli army targeted the main entrance to the UNIFIL command center in the town of Naqoura, southern Lebanon, with artillery shells.
The US Defense statement stated that Austin and Gallant discussed the latest developments in the Middle East.
Austin said: “Instead of military operations in Lebanon, there is a need as soon as possible for a diplomatic option that guarantees the safety of civilians,” ignoring the deaths of thousands of civilians killed and wounded by Israeli fire in Lebanon.
The American minister, whose country supports Israel in the genocidal war it is waging against Gaza, expressed his concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Strip, stressing the need to take steps to prevent this.
Austin offered his condolences to his Israeli counterpart over the killing of Israeli soldiers as a result of an attack launched by Lebanese factions on Sunday, on a military base south of the city of Haifa in northern Israel, which resulted in the killing of 6 soldiers and the injury of 7 others, according to the latest outcome.
In his third call with his Israeli counterpart since Thursday, Austin reiterated the United States’ “commitment” to Israel’s security.
Earlier on Sunday evening, the Lebanese factions announced that they had attacked an Israeli army camp in the Haifa area (north) with drones.
The Israeli army said, on Sunday evening, that 6 soldiers were killed and 7 others were injured as a result of the air attack launched by the Lebanese factions on a military base south of the city of Haifa, northern Israel.
Since last September 23, Israel has expanded the scope of the “genocide” it has been committing in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, to include most regions of Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut, through air strikes, in addition to ground incursions into the south.
As of Saturday evening, the raids resulted in 1,488 dead and 4,297 wounded, including a large number of women and children, and more than 1,340,000 displaced people, according to Anatolia’s monitoring of official Lebanese data.
Every day, the Lebanese factions respond with missiles, drones, and artillery shells targeting military sites and settlements, and while Israel announces some of its human and material losses, military censorship imposes a strict blackout on most of the losses, according to observers.
Anatolia
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