U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin met with Israeli Defense Minister Gallant and urged him to avoid full-scale combat with the Lebanon-based Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and instead seek a diplomatic solution.

US Secretary of Defense Austin
“We are extremely concerned by the increased rocket attacks from Lebanon’s Hezbollah into northern Israel.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin expressed concern about the intensifying attacks on Israel by Hezbollah in a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Gallant on the 25th.

He then said that if Israel and Hezbollah began full-scale fighting, “it could lead to a war in the Middle East with terrible consequences,” and emphasized the importance of seeking a diplomatic solution.

The United States is concerned that if full-scale fighting between Israel and Hezbollah were to occur, the conflict could spread to the entire Middle East, including by drawing Iran into the conflict, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met with Defense Minister Gallant on the 24th, also urged him to seek a diplomatic solution.

Source: Japanese