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Blinken Tells Israeli Officials of Need to Avoid Further Escalation with Lebanon

File photo: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the State Department in Washington, US, June 18, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
File photo: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the State Department in Washington, US, June 18, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
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Blinken Tells Israeli Officials of Need to Avoid Further Escalation with Lebanon

File photo: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the State Department in Washington, US, June 18, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
File photo: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the State Department in Washington, US, June 18, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli officials during a meeting on Thursday of the need to avoid further escalation in Lebanon amid the war in Gaza, the State Department said.
Blinken was meeting Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Ron Dermer, Israel's minister for strategic affairs, Reuters reported.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, an ally of the Palestinian group Hamas, has been exchanging strikes with Israel almost daily since the war in Gaza erupted on Oct. 7, with the aim to pull Israeli forces away from the embattled Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah's attacks escalated after Israel expanded its offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah in May, and spiked further in June after an Israeli strike killed high-ranking Hezbollah commander Taleb Sami Abdullah, the most senior militant killed so far during the Israel-Hamas war.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday warned that his party has new weapons and intelligence capabilities that could help it target more critical positions deeper inside Israel in case of an all-out war.
In response, Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said that Israel was aware of Hezbollah's capabilities and has solutions for these threats.

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Lebanon's Hezbollah Confirms Leader Nasrallah Killed

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo
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Lebanon's Hezbollah Confirms Leader Nasrallah Killed

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo

Lebanon's Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed and vowed to continue the battle against Israel.

A statement Saturday said Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs.”
The statement said Hezbollah vows to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine.”
Nasrallah led the Lebanese group for more than three decades. His death could dramatically reshape conflicts across the Middle East.
Earlier, Israel said Saturday that it killed Nasrallah, dealing its most significant blow to the Lebanese group after months of fighting.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the Beirut strikes Friday, which leveled six apartment buildings. Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders were also killed in the attack, the Israeli military said.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesperson, said the airstrike was based on years of tracking Nasrallah along with “real time information” that made it viable. He said Nasrallah’s death had been confirmed through various types of intelligence, but declined to elaborate.
It was not immediately clear what effect the strike would have on Hezbollah or fighting between the sides that has dragged on for nearly a year. Israel has vowed to step up pressure on Hezbollah until it halts its attacks that have displaced tens of thousands of Israelis from communities near the Lebanese border. The recent fighting has also displaced more than 200,000 Lebanese in the past week, according to the United Nations.