US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had no advance warning of Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah’s central headquarters in Beirut, but he spoke to his Israeli counterpart as the operation was already underway.
Amid speculation about the fate of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese terrorist group, Austin declined to make any assessment of the attack. Austin said he would speak again “soon” with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant for an update.
“We had no advance warning. My conversation with Secretary Gallant occurred while the operation was actually already underway,” Austin told reporters upon landing at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington after a trip to London.
“As you know, this operation occurred just a few hours ago, and they are still assessing. I have no further information or details to provide you at this time.”
The attack could have far-reaching implications for the Middle East as Israel shifts its focus from its nearly year-old war with Iran-aligned Hamas in Gaza to operations against Hezbollah.
Iran’s embassy in Lebanon said on Twitter that the attack represents a dangerous game-changing escalation that “will bring its perpetrator to justice.”
Jordan’s foreign minister said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is taking the region toward all-out war.
Austin has been warning publicly that a full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel would be devastating for both sides and on Friday renewed calls for diplomacy.
Austin said, “All-out war must be avoided. Diplomacy remains the best way forward, and it is the quickest way to allow displaced Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes on both sides of the border.”
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on Friday, declined to say what Gallant told Austin about the operation and whether it specifically targeted Nasrallah. The Pentagon declined to speculate on whether Nasrallah was still alive.
Asked what Austin might have told Gallant given the potential impact of an Israeli attack on U.S. efforts to ensure a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Singh declined to provide specifics, but said the defense secretary would Always candid in conversations with Israeli counterpart.
“Look at the engagements that have taken place between the Secretary and Minister Gallant over the past two weeks, with regular conversations. I think if there had been any kind of fracture in trust, you would have had those types of calls and conversations over and over again. “When asked whether the lack of advance notification by Israel indicated a lack of confidence,” Singh said.
The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah’s central headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday, shaking the Lebanese capital and sending thick clouds of smoke over the city.
A senior Hezbollah commander was the target of Israel’s strike on the group’s central headquarters in the suburbs of Beirut on Friday, but it was too early to say whether Nasrallah was killed in the strike, a senior Israeli official said on Friday.
The official said, “I think it is too early to say, but, you know, it is a question of time. Sometimes when we are successful they hide the facts.”
tune in