State Dept Spox Pressed On Israeli Airstrike In Beirut In Retaliation For Hezbollah Attack

7/31/2024

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel was asked about Israel's recent airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon.

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Transcript

00:00A blast was heard in Beirut just a few minutes ago, and a security source has said the strike

00:04was targeting a senior Hezbollah commander.

00:07Was this an Israeli strike, as far as you're aware?

00:09No, I don't have any updates on any specific activity that we're seeing.

00:15So on this specific incident, I would have to refer you to partners in the region to

00:19speak to.

00:20Has Israel been in touch with you prior to this about any potential upcoming strike?

00:25So we have been in continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since

00:29the incident over the weekend, and the United States is going to continue to support efforts

00:34to reach a diplomatic solution along the blue line.

00:38Our hope is we'll end these terrible attacks and, again, allow Israeli and Lebanese citizens

00:42on both sides of the border to safely return home.

00:45That's going to continue to remain our focus and goal.

00:48And have they given you any warning that they would strike Beirut if this is an Israeli

00:51strike?

00:52I'm just not going to get into specific diplomatic discussions, and I'll leave it to Israelis

00:56to speak to any planning or response that they may have in the works.

01:01And we had reported that the U.S. was urging Israel not to strike Beirut.

01:05Do you feel that this could escalate tensions if this is an Israeli strike, and are you

01:10concerned about the repercussions?

01:11So I'm going to echo a little bit what I said yesterday, which is that our support for Israel's

01:16security is ironclad and it's unwavering, especially as it defends itself against Iran-backed

01:22threats, including threats from Hezbollah.

01:25No nation could be expected to tolerate the kinds of threats that Israel is facing and

01:31continues to face.

01:32But at the same time – and you heard Admiral Kirby say this yesterday, as well as myself

01:37– that we do not believe that all-out war is inevitable, and we still believe that it

01:41can be avoided.

01:43And we're continuing to work towards a diplomatic resolution that would allow Israeli and Lebanese

01:48civilians to return to their homes and live in peace and security.

01:52We certainly want to avoid any kind of escalation, and that is exactly why we continue to remain

01:57so deeply focused on diplomacy.

02:00Jenny, go ahead.

02:01Is the U.S. prepared to back Israel if this does devolve into a full-fledged war on the

02:07Northern Front?

02:08I'm just not going to get into hypotheticals beyond saying that our commitment to Israel's

02:11security is ironclad and unwavering, and the threat that Israel faces from Hezbollah is

02:17very real, as real as the events that we saw unfold this weekend.

02:22But our focus continues to be on diplomacy.

02:26We continue to believe that diplomacy is the best path forward.

02:29We think that is the best way right now to calm tensions along the blue line and to create

02:35conditions that will allow civilians to return home.

02:37That's our focus.

02:38Is it still your assessment that both sides do not want to see this devolve into a full-fledged conflict?

02:42I'm not going to speak for – I'm not going to speak for the other entities.

02:46Certainly, the United States' perspective and point of view.

02:50Like I said, and you saw the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State speak to

02:54this a little bit on their travels, we do not believe that an all-out war is inevitable,

03:00and we believe that it can be avoided, and that's exactly why we're remaining focused

03:04on diplomacy.

State Dept Spox Pressed On Israeli Airstrike In Beirut In Retaliation For Hezbollah Attack

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