The United States does not want Israeli actions in Lebanon to lead to a protracted campaign, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday, more than a month since Israel began a major offensive against Hezbollah in the country.
Blinken also said he anticipated negotiators would meet in the coming days for discussions on a Gaza ceasefire deal, signalling a renewed bid to achieve a deal that diplomats have repeatedly failed to secure during more than a year of conflict.
Blinken has been on his first trip to the region since Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked conflict across the Middle East. Washington has expressed hope his death can provide an impetus for an end to the fighting.
Israel launched its Lebanon offensive with the declared aim of securing the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated in northern Israel during a year of cross-border rocket fire by Hezbollah.
Over the last month, Israel has pounded southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley and sent ground forces into areas near the border. The Israeli campaign has killed more than 2,500 people, displaced more than 1 million people and spawned a humanitarian crisis, Lebanon says.
"As Israel conducts operations to remove the threat to Israel and its people along the border with Lebanon, we have been very clear that this cannot lead, should not lead, to a protracted campaign," Blinken said, speaking in Doha alongside the prime minister of Qatar, Reuters reported.
"Israel must take the necessary steps to avoid civilian casualties and not endanger UN peacekeepers or Lebanese armed forces," he added.
Earlier on Thursday, an Israeli strike killed three Lebanese soldiers as they were trying to evacuate wounded people from the village of Yater near the border, the Lebanese army said.
Blinken said the United States was "working intensely" on a diplomatic resolution which would allow civilians on both sides on the border to return to their homes.
Hezbollah opened fire on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with its Palestinian allies in Gaza, prompting a conflict that had largely played out in areas at or near the border until Israel launched its major escalation.
Blinken said he anticipated the negotiations on Gaza would concern a return of hostages and a ceasefire. If Hamas cared about people of Gaza it would engage in negotiations and conclude an agreement, he said.
The United States was looking at "different options" that it could pursue when it comes to Gaza ceasefire talks, he added.
