US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday he does not want to see an escalation of conflict on Israel’s northern border after Israel accused Hezbollah of killing 12 children and teenagers in a rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel said on Sunday it would strike hard against the Iran-backed group after the attack, which took place on a football field and for which Hezbollah has denied any responsibility.
The strike raised fears of a wider conflict in the region where tensions have intensified due to Israel’s war in Gaza. The onslaught, which began more than nine months ago, has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis in the narrow coastal enclave.
Blinken said the U.S. was in talks with Israel about the incident in the Golan Heights and the indications were that Lebanon-based Hezbollah fired the rocket.
“I emphasise (Israel’s) right to defend its citizens and our determination to make sure that they’re able to do that,” Blinken said during a news conference in Tokyo. “But we also don’t want to see the conflict escalate. We don’t want to see it spread.”
Blinken said he was saddened by the loss of life and said reaching a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza can help to calm the situation on Israel’s border with Lebanon.
“It’s so important that we help defuse that conflict, not only prevent it from escalating, prevent it from spreading but to defuse it because you have so many people in both countries, in both Israel and Lebanon, who’ve been displaced from their homes,” Blinken said.
Despite mediation efforts by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas have yet to forge a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday echoed Blinken’s statement, saying that Israel had the right to defend itself against Hezbollah.
“Israel has every right to defend itself against Hezbollah like they do against Hamas,” Schumer told CBS News in an interview.
“I don’t think anyone wants a wider war. So I hope there are moves to de-escalate,” Schumer added.