John Kirby, White House NSC Advisor
"Military Conflict Does Not Benefit Israel"
As clashes between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah escalated to their largest scale since the Gaza war following the explosion of wireless pagers (beepers), the U.S. government warned Israel against launching a full-scale war.
John Kirby, White House National Security Council (NSC) National Security Communications Coordinator, appeared on ABC's "This Week" on the 22nd (local time) and stated, "We do not believe a military conflict will occur, and we are directly telling Israel the same."
He emphasized, "We believe that escalating such military conflict is not in Israel's best interest either," adding, "There are better ways, such as evacuating Israeli residents to the north, rather than war, heightened tensions, or opening a second front."
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also mentioned the importance of a diplomatic resolution to Israel the day before and expressed concerns about the safety of U.S. citizens in the conflict zone.
Previously, Israel and Hezbollah had engaged in localized skirmishes since the Gaza war began in October last year. However, after Israel simultaneously detonated pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives over two days on the 17th and 18th, clashes between the two sides intensified. Hezbollah declared this incident as a declaration of war and retaliated.
When asked if he was concerned about the incident, which reportedly was triggered by Israel's attack on the pagers, Kirby said, "There is not much I can say about that incident," and clarified, "To be clear, we were not involved in that incident." He added, "We have been watching the escalating tensions over the past week with great concern," and stated, "We will continue to make every effort to prevent this from escalating into a full-scale war with Hezbollah."
He stressed, "We still believe there is time and space for a diplomatic solution and are working toward that," adding, "Our current focus is on preventing the conflict from expanding or deepening."
Regarding the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, he said, "There has been no progress in the past one to two weeks," and noted, "It seems that Sinwar (the top political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas) is not ready to continue negotiations with trust."
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