(AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with Lebanon’s prime minister to discuss Israel’s strikes on the country as Washington presses the Beirut government to take charge against Hezbollah. Blinken, on his way back from a Middle East tour, met in London with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who came in from a conference on Lebanon in Paris the day before. The two smiled before the cameras but made no remarks.
The United States, Israel’s main political and military ally, has stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire in its month of bombing of Lebanon targeting Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. But Blinken has also called for a quick diplomatic solution. “We have been very clear that this cannot lead — should not lead — to a protracted campaign and that Israel must take the necessary steps to avoid civilian casualties and not endanger UN peacekeepers or the Lebanese Armed Forces,” Blinken said Thursday in Doha.
The United States has called for Lebanon’s long wobbly central government to take charge of security and for the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite movement that effectively has its own military. Hezbollah has fired missiles at Israel in solidarity with Hamas since the Palestinian militants’ October 7, 2023 attack, which triggered Israel’s massive military assault in Gaza.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in a call to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Wednesday voiced concern over Israeli strikes on the Lebanese army, which have killed at least 11 Lebanese soldiers, according to an AFP tally of army announcements.
© 2024 AFP
