US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Thursday that the American government would only urge Israel to stop its strikes against the Hezbollah terrorist organization if Hezbollah ended its constant attacks against the Jewish State.
“Nasrallah could stop the terrorist attacks across Israel, and I guarantee you, if he did that, we would be impressing upon Israel the need to maintain calm on their end,” Miller said. “The bottom line is, he hasn’t stopped those terrorist attacks, and so as long as Hezbollah is launching terrorist attacks across the border, of course, Israel is going to launch military action to defend itself as any country would."
According to the State Department Spokesman, “What we continue to push to all the parties is not to escalate the conflict, not to let it spiral out of control into a war that we don’t think serves either side’s interests, and to ultimately try to get to a ceasefire in Gaza that would help bring calm across the Blue Line."
An IDF officer and soldier were killed in a Hezbollah UAV and anti-tank missile attack on northern Israel on Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed that he spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the situation in northern Israel.
"I spoke overnight with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to reflect on the strategic, regional picture and to brief the Secretary on IDF operations in the southern and northern arenas, focusing on Israel’s defense against Hezbollah threats," Gallant said.
"I expressed my appreciation to the Secretary for his unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and contribution to the US-Israel alliance."
Tensions are high between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist organization after thousands of Hezbollah communication devices exploded on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing dozens of Hezbollah operatives and injuring thousands in a strike believed to have been caused by Israel.
Earlier this week, the Israeli war cabinet approved an update to the nation's goals in the war to include the safe return of the nearly 100,000 Israeli citizens who have been displaced from their homes due to Hezbollah's constant attacks on northern Israel over the last year.
Hezbollah has fired over 8,000 rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel since the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, in support of the Hamas terrorist organization, its fellow Iranian proxy.