West Asia crisis: US pressures Israel to scale back attacks on Beirut, citing 'far too high' civilian toll
Lloyd Austin
The United States on Saturday (Oct 19) called for Israel to scale back its strikes on Beirut, Lebanon, citing the rising civilian death toll as "far too high".
Just hours after Israel carried out heavy strikes on Hezbollah positions in the southern suburbs of the capital, sending plumes of smoke billowing over the city, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: "We'd like to see Israel scale back on some of the strikes it's taking, especially in and around Beirut".
'We'd like to see things transition': US
Speaking at a G7 defence meeting in Naples, Italy, Austin urged a shift towards negotiations to enable civilians on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border to return home safely.
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"We'd like to see things transition to some sort of negotiation that will allow civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes," he said.
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Attacks on UNIFIL
On Friday, the UN mission, known as UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon), said that in recent days, it had come under several "deliberate" attacks by Israeli forces.
Austin said that he has asked his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant about Israeli attacks on the UN peacekeeping mission's positions in Lebanon.
"He (Gallant) assured me there's no intent of him or his forces to target UNIFIL forces. Again, I continue to emphasise how important it is that those forces don't come under attack," said Austin.
This comes as America, Israel's strongest ally, has been urging Tehran to do more to safeguard civilians in Lebanon and Gaza. Last week, the US in a confidential letter from Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Israeli officials to take concrete measures to address the worsening situation in Gaza within 30 days. The US reportedly warned Tehran that without concrete steps to address the situation, the warring nation could face potential restrictions on American military aid.
(With inputs from agencies)
