Israeli air attacks targeted the southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday, while dozens were killed separately in Gaza, after the Israeli army began a new incursion into the north.
A state of anxiety prevails in the region amid anticipation of a possible response from Israel to a missile attack launched by Iran last week, in response to the Israeli escalation in Lebanon.
Ultimately, there were no reports of deaths in Israel as a result of the Iranian attack, which Washington described as “ineffective.”
A US State Department spokesman said in an emailed statement: “Military pressure may sometimes help achieve diplomacy. Of course, military pressure may also lead to miscalculation. It may lead to unintended consequences.”
The United States said that it supports Israel in pursuing targets in Lebanon, and gave the example of Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters, but it does not want to target civilians or civilian infrastructure.
The spokesman added: “We are currently holding talks with Israel about all of these factors. We have been clear and consistent that further escalation is not in anyone’s interest. A mere civilian loss would amount to a large number.”
Washington rarely condemns its ally, Israel, against the backdrop of the number of civilian deaths in Gaza and Lebanon. Its condemnation is mostly verbal, and this is not accompanied by any fundamental change in policy, even after the United States witnessed months of protests demanding a ban on sending weapons to Israel.
The US State Department added that Washington’s goal is to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon, to make room for diplomacy.
The United States and France put forward a proposal for a 21-day ceasefire on the border between Israel and Lebanon in late September, and Washington and its allies also expressed their support for a ceasefire in Gaza, but efforts on both levels have not succeeded so far.
Since then, Israel has escalated its military campaign in Lebanon, which in the past few days has resulted in the deaths of hundreds, the injury of thousands, and the displacement of more than a million people.
At the beginning of the week, French President Emmanuel Macron said that sending weapons to Israel must be stopped, which responded by saying that such a step would “serve Iran’s purposes.”
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