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Austin Says Middle East War Not Inevitable, Seeks to 'Take The Temperature Down'

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2024. (AFP)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2024. (AFP)
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Austin Says Middle East War Not Inevitable, Seeks to 'Take The Temperature Down'

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2024. (AFP)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2024. (AFP)

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday he did not think a wider war in the Middle East was inevitable and the United States was seeking to cool rising tensions in the region.
"I don't think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think there's always room and opportunities for diplomacy," Austin told reporters during a visit to the Philippines.
His remarks come after Israel claimed on Tuesday to have killed the Hezbollah commander who it said was behind a deadly strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Reuters reported.
Asked also if he could confirm information about another strike that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on Wednesday, Austin said: "I don't have any additional information to provide".
Palestinian group Hamas said the strike was a "severe escalation" that would not achieve its goals.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing in ceremony for the country's new president, and said it was investigating.
Asked what assistance the United States would provide if a wider conflict should break out in the Middle East, Austin said Washington would continue to help defend Israel if it were attacked, but the priority was de-escalating tensions.
"We don't want to see any of that happen. We're going to work hard to make sure that we're doing things to help take the temperature down and address issues through diplomatic gatherings," he said.

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West Bank Palestinians Say Haniyeh Killing Will Not Affect Fight with Israel

(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)
(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)
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West Bank Palestinians Say Haniyeh Killing Will Not Affect Fight with Israel

(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)
(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas who was killed in Iran on Wednesday, but said it would have little effect on the movement.
Israeli officials have not so far claimed responsibility for the killing of Haniyeh, who had been in Tehran for the inauguration of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and there has been no official comment from the government, said Reuters.
But few doubted that Haniyeh, the public face of Hamas who took the top job in 2017, was the latest in a string of Hamas leaders to have been killed by Israel.
"We woke up this morning to a tragedy for the Palestinian people," said Fawzi Nassar, a resident of the southern city of Hebron.
"He is not the first one they assassinated - there were many leaders in the past like Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and others, but that will not affect our steadfastness," he said, referring to the founder of Hamas who was killed by an Israeli helicopter gunship in 2004.
Palestinian factions called for a day of protest and a general strike in the West Bank and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction is a political rival to Hamas, condemned the killing, which Fatah called a "heinous and cowardly act".
Although the West Bank is under the nominal leadership of the Palestinian Authority, run by Fatah, opinion polls show support for Hamas is strong.
"His assassination will not affect the party because the party is not a new one," said Suheil Nasrelddin, a resident of Hebron. "They have a lot of leaders, even the youngest child is a leader."
The West Bank has been in turmoil since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel which sparked Israel's invasion of Gaza, with regular raids by Israeli forces in cities across the area.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, many of them armed militants but also many stone-throwing youths or unarmed protesters and uninvolved civilians.
"The Israeli crime of assassinating Ismael Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, will not break the Palestinian resistance or the Palestinian people's determination to achieve our freedom," said Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian politician who heads the Union Of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees.
"Of course it will escalate the situation," he said. "And this is what Netanyahu wants, he knows that the end of this war is the end of his political career."