The White House pledged its support to Israel after the IDF launched preemptive strikes against the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah in Lebanon, as it was on the verge of launching a large-scale attack against Israel.
US President Joe Biden “is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon,” National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett.
Biden “has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening.
“At his direction, senior US officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts. We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability,” he said.
He spoke as the US led talks were unwary in Cairo for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, which the Biden administration hopes would also end the ten-month IDF-Hezbollah war along Israel’s northern border as well as prevent an all-out war between Israel and Iran.
Gallant's conversation with US officials
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant updated US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about the strike and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Israel’s security cabinet early in the morning.
"This morning we identified Hezbollah's preparations to attack Israel. In consensus with the Defense Minister and the IDF Chief-of-Staff, we directed the IDF to initiate action to eliminate the threat,” Netanyahu said.
“Since then, the IDF has been taking strong action to foil the threats. It has eliminated thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel. It is thwarting many other threats and is taking very strong action – both defensively and offensively,” he stressed.
Gallant told Austin, "We have conducted precise strikes in Lebanon in order to thwart an imminent threat against the citizens of Israel. We are closely following developments in Beirut, and we are determined to use all the means at our disposal in order to defend our citizens.”
Gallant and Austin discussed the importance of avoiding regional escalation, the Defense Ministry said.
Two United Nations offices, that of the special coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) and its interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIl) called on all parties to “refrain from further escalatory action” and for all parties to adhere to UN Security Council resolution 1701 that set out the ceasefire terms that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
“A return to the cessation of hostilities, followed by the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, is the only sustainable way forward,” they said.
“We will continue our contacts to strongly urge for de-escalation,” the added.
Hezbollah said it had fired 320 Katyusha rockets toward Israel and hit 11 military targets in what it called the first phase of its retaliation for Israel's assassination of Fuad Shukr, a senior commander, last month.
Israel's military said it had foiled a much larger attack with pre-emptive airstrikes after assessing that Hezbollah was preparing to launch the barrage, using 100 jets to strike more than 40 Hezbollah launch sites in southern Lebanon.
The strikes destroyed thousands of launcher barrels, aimed mostly at northern Israel but also targeting some central areas, Israel's military said.
Hezbollah dismissed Israel's statement that the group's attack had been foiled with pre-emptive strikes, saying it had been able to launch its drones as planned and that the rest of its response to Shukr's killing would take "some time.”Egypt, one of the mediators in Gaza ceasefire talks, warned against the dangers of a new war front opening in Lebanon.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group congratulated its ally Hezbollah on what it called a "great and brave" attack on Israel.
Reuters contributed to this report.