Author: Simon Lewis and Kanishka Singh
TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday he did not want to see Israel’s northern border cleared after Israel blamed Hezbollah for a rocket attack that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Conflict escalates.
Israel said on Sunday it would crack down on the Iran-backed group after an attack at a football stadium, for which Hezbollah denied responsibility.
The attack raised fears of a wider conflict in the region, where tensions have been heightened by Israel’s war in Gaza. The attacks, which began more than nine months ago, have killed tens of thousands of people and sparked a humanitarian crisis in the narrow coastal enclave.
Blinken said the United States was negotiating with Israel over the Golan Heights incident and there were signs that Lebanese Hezbollah had launched rockets.
“I emphasize (Israel’s) right to protect its citizens and our determination to ensure that they can do that,” Blinken told a news conference in Tokyo. “But we also don’t want to see an escalation of the conflict. We don’t Hope to see the conflict spread.”
Blinken said he was saddened by the casualties and said a ceasefire in the Gaza war would help calm the situation on Israel’s border with Lebanon.
“It’s very important that we help defuse this conflict, not only to prevent it from escalating and spreading, but also to defuse it because there are so many people displaced from their homes in both Israel and Lebanon,” Blinken said.
Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas have yet to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, despite mediation efforts by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer echoed Blinken’s statement on Sunday, saying Israel had the right to defend itself against Hezbollah.
“Israel has every right to stand up to Hezbollah, just like it does to Hamas,” Schumer told CBS News in an interview.
Schumer added: “I don’t think anyone wants a broader war. So I want steps to be taken to de-escalate the situation.”
