Austin: America wants Israel to curtail its strikes in Beirut

Rhino: Agencies – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that the United States wants Israel to curtail its strikes in and around the Lebanese capital Beirut, adding that the number of civilian deaths and injuries is “too high.”

Austin’s comments come hours after Israel carried out heavy raids on several sites in Beirut’s southern suburbs, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky into the night. Israel said it attacked weapons facilities belonging to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Tens of thousands have been displaced from Beirut’s southern suburbs since Israel began heavily targeting them almost three weeks ago. The densely populated southern suburb was home to Hezbollah’s underground headquarters and facilities.

“We would like to see Israel reduce strikes in and around Beirut and we would like to see a transition to negotiations that would allow civilians on both sides to return home,” Austin told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 defense ministers’ meeting in Naples, Italy.

Austin said he asked his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant about Israeli attacks on United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) positions.

UNIFIL said on Friday that it had come under several “deliberate” attacks from Israeli forces in the past few days and that efforts to help civilians in villages in the war zone were hampered by Israeli shelling.

“(Gallant) assured me that there was no intention by him or his forces to target UNIFIL forces,” Austin said. “Again, I continue to emphasize how important it is that they are not under attack.

The US urges its ally Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza and Lebanon.

But a confidential letter from Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israeli officials last week demanded that they take concrete measures to address the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza or face possible restrictions on U.S. military support.

Austin declined to discuss the letter but noted that the U.S. is seeing a “sharp decline in the amount of aid entering (Gaza).”