WILMINGTON, Del. (Askume) – U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday he was concerned about rising tensions between Israel and Lebanon but said Israel’s killing of a senior Hezbollah leader was an attempt to bring justice to Iran-backed groups.
Sullivan told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, that he still saw a path to a ceasefire in Gaza but that the United States was “not ready to make a deal yet.”
Sullivan said the United States would continue to work closely with Qatar and Egypt as they negotiate with Hamas, but Washington has been unable to come to such a mutually acceptable agreement while negotiating with Israel.
“Will this change in the next few days? Maybe,” Sullivan said.
Lebanon’s health ministry said 16 people, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqeel and another senior commander, Ahmed Wahbi, were killed in a Hezbollah air strike on a Beirut suburb on Friday .
The Lebanese Health Ministry said the airstrike killed three children and seven women and was the deadliest attack against Hezbollah since October 8, when Hezbollah launched a nearly month-long offensive against Hamas, the year-old rival in Gaza, and expressed sympathy for the Palestinians.
Sullivan said Friday’s attack brought justice to Aguirre, who was wanted by the United States for two 1983 truck bombings in Beirut that killed more than 300 people at the US embassy and a US Marine Corps barracks.
“Whenever terrorists who murder Americans are brought to justice, we believe that is a good outcome.”
Sullivan said Israel carried out the attack this month and detonated Lebanese pagers and walkie-talkies , killing at least 39 people and wounding about 3,000. The threat of further escalation was “serious.” The attacks are widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, but Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
“While the risk of escalation is real, we believe there is a path forward to end hostilities and find lasting solutions that allow people on both sides of the border to feel safe,” Sullivan said.
At least 22 people, including 13 children and six women, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school hosting displaced people in southern Gaza City on Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. Israel said it targeted a Hamas command center located inside the school.
