The United States remains “incredibly concerned” about the risk of escalation on the Israel-Lebanon border, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Wednesday.
Tensions on the border have been rising. Cross-border attacks from Lebanon led to large fires blazing through Israel’s northern region this week, and the Israeli military warned it was prepared to launch a large-scale attack in the north to deter the Iran-backed Islamist group Hezbollah.
Miller reiterated Wednesday that “it is an untenable situation for Israel right now” as tens of thousands of Israelis cannot return to their homes in the north due to “constant Hezbollah shelling and drone attacks.”
Miller claimed that the Israeli government has privately maintained to the US that “their preferred solution to this conflict is a diplomatic one.”
He added that “one of the reasons we think a ceasefire in Gaza is so important is because that ceasefire would unlock the potential for us to actually achieve lasting calm in the north.”
