WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed that the United States was dedicated to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon and urged Israel to improve “dire” conditions in Gaza, in a call Saturday with his Israeli counterpart.
Austin “reiterated US commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border” in his call with Israel Katz, a Pentagon spokesperson said.
A spokesman for Katz said the defense minister underscored that Israel would “continue to act decisively in response to Hezbollah’s attacks on civilian populations in Israel.”
During the call, “Katz commended US efforts to facilitate de-escalation in Lebanon, emphasized Israel’s commitment to restoring security that would enable northern residents to return to their homes safely,” his spokesman said.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in Lebanon and Israel this week, meeting with both countries’ senior officials, to try to negotiate an end to the war.
In the call Austin also “urged the Government of Israel to continue to take steps to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza and emphasized the US commitment to securing the release of all hostages, including US citizens.”
Israel has been fighting in Gaza since October 2023, when a cross-border attack by Hamas militants resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
During the attack, militants took 251 hostages, of whom 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has led to the deaths of 44,176 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.
Israel is currently engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both groups are backed by Israel’s arch-foe Iran.
Lebanon said Saturday an Israeli air strike in the heart of Beirut that brought down a residential building killed at least 15 people.
Israel stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah in late September, targeting its strongholds in Lebanon.
The health ministry in Beirut says more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, when Hezbollah began trading fire with Israel in solidarity with Hamas.
The United Nations and others have repeatedly decried humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the north of the Palestinian territory, where Israel said Friday it had killed two commanders involved in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
In his call with Katz, Austin also discussed ongoing Israeli operations and reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” the Pentagon said.
US says committed to ‘diplomatic resolution’ in Lebanon
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US says committed to ‘diplomatic resolution’ in Lebanon
- Austin “reiterated US commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return safely to their homes “
- He also “urged the Government of Israel to continue to take steps to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza”
UN, aid groups warn Gaza operations at risk from Israel impediments
- Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations and aid groups warned on Wednesday that humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, were at risk of collapse if Israel does not lift impediments that include a “vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized” registration process.
Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days, said the UN and more than 200 local and international aid groups in a joint statement.
“The deregistration of INGOs (international aid groups) in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” the statement read.
“INGOs run or support the majority of field hospitals, primary health care centers, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilization centers for children with acute malnutrition, and critical mine action activities,” it said.
SUPPLIES LEFT OUT OF REACH: GROUPS
While some international aid groups have been registered under the system that was introduced in March, “the ongoing re-registration process and other arbitrary hindrances to humanitarian operations have left millions of dollars’ worth of essential supplies — including food, medical items, hygiene materials, and shelter assistance — stuck outside of Gaza and unable to reach people in need,” the statement read.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement. Under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas began on October 10. Hamas released hostages, Israel freed detained Palestinians and more aid began flowing into the enclave where a global hunger monitor said in August famine had taken hold.
However, Hamas says fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza than was agreed. Aid agencies say there is far less aid than required, and that Israel is blocking many necessary items from coming in. Israel denies that and says it is abiding by its obligations under the truce.
“The UN will not be able to compensate for the collapse of INGOs’ operations if they are de-registered, and the humanitarian response cannot be replaced by alternative actors operating outside established humanitarian principles,” the statement by the UN and aid groups said.
The statement stressed “humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political,” adding: “Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay.”
