US pledges support to Israel amid escalating Middle Eastern tensions
- The United States would help Israel defend itself should a full-scale war break out with Lebanon - declared Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin. This statement comes after the elimination of the Hamas leader and the killing of the main military commander of Hezbollah. Austin added that the USA is "doing things to help take the temperature down and address issues through diplomatic gatherings."
Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin declared on Wednesday that the USA will help Israel if it is attacked. He also expressed his belief that war in the Middle East is not "inevitable." He assured that "we're doing things to help take the temperature down and address issues through diplomatic gatherings."
Hamas leader is dead
On Wednesday, the Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas announced that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a “Zionist” airstrike on his residence in Tehran.
I do not think that war is inevitable. That's my stance. In my opinion, there is always room for diplomacy - said Austin to reporters during his visit to the Philippines.
Asked how the United States can assist in case of a broader conflict erupting in the Middle East, the Pentagon chief stated that US "would help Israel defend itself should a full-scale war break out with Lebanon. We've been clear about that from the very beginning, but again, we don't want to see that happen"
We don't want to see any of that happen. We're going to work hard to make sure that we're doing things to help take the temperature down and address issues through diplomatic gatherings - he announced.
Hezbollah military commander killed
The death of the Hamas leader occurred a few hours after an Israeli retaliatory strike on Hezbollah. In the air raid on the capital of Lebanon, Beirut, the main military commander of the organisation, Fuad Shukr, was killed.
The attack was a response to Saturday's shelling of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, in which 12 children and teenagers were killed. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Hezbollah has been attacking Israel to help Hamas. Iran also supports both Hezbollah and Hamas.
