The United States claimed that it was not warned in advance about Israeli military strikes on the capital of Lebanon, Beirut.
According to Reuters, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday, September 27, that he did not have any warning of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) airstrikes on Hezbollah’s central headquarters, but he talked to Israel’s defence chief during the strikes.
Austin told reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, “We had no advance warning. My call with Minister Gallant took place while the operation was actually already underway. As you know, this operation took place just a couple of hours ago, and they’re still making assessments.”
He said that he did not have any “further information or specifics” to share at that moment. The defence secretary also warned that a full-blown war would be devastating for both Israel and Lebanon.
Austin added, “An all-out war should be avoided. Diplomacy continues to be the best way forward, and it’s the fastest way to let displaced Israeli and Lebanese citizens return to their homes on both sides of the border.”
The defence secretary asserted that he would speak to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant again for the updates.
