A senior US official commented on the Hamas invasion of Israel and its influence on surrounding Arab countries to Al-Arabiya.
"On the Lebanese, I think we made very clear — the President made very clear that anyone, any — any party that’s hostile to Israel, seeking to take advantage of this situation, we’d strongly warn against that."
Regarding the fate of the civilian population of Gaza, he commented: "Obviously, we — you know, similar to other conflicts in Gaza — will work with parties throughout the region to try to contain the situation in Gaza and not spread elsewhere. But these are decisions that will be very important."
Regarding the future of the Abraham Accords, he commented, "I would just say we have been, you know, very deep — look, yes, we do not have a final outcome or resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But let me say: We have been in deep, deep discussions with the Palestinians — talking to them almost every day, every week — and the Israelis. We brought the Israelis and the Palestinians together in face-to-face talks twice — really for the first time in almost a decade — in Aqaba and Sharem and have been working to find some rules of the road."
"And particularly — when it comes to security and other issues, particularly in the West Bank and also in Gaza, working with the Egyptians, the Qataris, and others. So, we have really been all over this."
"This was an unprovoked assault by a terrorist group, Hamas. And that’s what this was, and that is how — and that is also going to influence the scope and significance of the Israeli response and, of course, our support for Israel in that response."
"But that does not take away from our focus on the fundamental issue, which you said. That’s one reason why Secretary Blinken called President Abbas today, they had a very good call. And needless to say, we have been in touch with other Palestinian officials across the board throughout the day."