Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday that his country is counting on US support “after it attacks Iran” in retaliation for the Islamic Republic’s October 1 missile attack on Israel.
During a discussion in Tel Aviv with Antony Blinken “about Iranian aggression and Iran’s terrorist activities through its proxies throughout the Middle East, [M. Gallant] stressed the importance of the United States supporting Israel after it attacked Iran,” a statement from his office read. “This will strengthen regional deterrence and weaken itaxis of evil », the text adds.
For his part, the foreign minister insisted on the importance of “taking advantage” of Yahya Sinouar’s death to “end the war in Gaza”. This death provides an “important opportunity to bring the hostages home,” he added.
“Further measures” for humanitarian aid?
Visiting Jerusalem, Antony Blinken also called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take “further measures” to allow humanitarian aid, controlled by Israel, to “reach civilians from one end to the other” of the besieged Palestinian territory, according to the State Department .
The war, which has lasted for more than a year in the Gaza Strip, has spread to Lebanon, where since September 30 Israel has carried out a ground offensive in the border areas in the south of the country to neutralize Hezbollah, supported by Iran, and allow the return of 60,000 residents of northern Israel displaced by incessant rocket fire for a year.
Washington said on Monday that it is working towards a solution “as soon as possible” of the conflict in Lebanon, which will be based on the application of UN Resolution 1701 from 2006, provided that only UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army are deployed in southern Lebanon.
At least 1,552 people have been killed in Lebanon since the first massive Israeli strikes on September 23 against Hezbollah, according to an AFP count based on official data. In mid-October, the UN registered almost 700,000 displaced persons in the country.
