Blinken spoke with Israeli defense minister on the phone and said an escalation of the situation "would benefit no one"
2024-08-10
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BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant spoke on the phone on the 9th, saying that the escalation of tensions in the Middle East "is not in the interests of any party" and reiterated the "urgent need" to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip in Palestine.
At the same time, the United States continues to promote military aid to Israel and mobilize its military forces to the Middle East. Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said that the order of "severe punishment of Israel" made by Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei will be "implemented" in the best way.
On July 7, Israeli Defense Minister Galant (front) inspected Israeli troops in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Xinhua News Agency (Photo provided by the Israeli Ministry of Defense)Ceasefire
The U.S. State Department said in a statement on the 9th that Blinken reiterated the United States' firm support for Israel's security during a call with Galant, while stating that an escalation of the situation "is not in the interests of either party." Blinken stressed the urgent need to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, release detained persons, allow the Gaza Strip to receive more humanitarian assistance, and "create conditions for broader regional stability."
Blinken also expressed the hope that border residents between Israel and Lebanon could return home through diplomatic means. Due to the recent continuous exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah on the border between Israel and Lebanon, a large number of border residents in both countries were forced to evacuate.
The US State Department statement did not explicitly mention Iran. Galante also spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the 8th regarding the regional situation.
The United States, Britain and other parties have repeatedly called on relevant parties to exercise restraint in recent days to avoid escalating tensions in the Middle East. On July 31, Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), was assassinated in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Both Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of assassinating him. Israel neither admitted nor denied it. The day before Haniyeh was assassinated, a senior military commander of Hezbollah in Lebanon was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon have vowed to retaliate against Israel.
On February 28, 2019, in Melbourne, Australia, a US F-22 fighter jet prepared to perform a flight show during the Australian International Air Show. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Bai XuefeiConstant action
As Israel's most important ally, the United States continues to provide political and military support to Israel. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said on the 9th that the United States will allocate $3.5 billion to Israel to purchase American-made weapons and equipment. According to CNN, the funds will be allocated in accordance with the appropriations bill passed by the U.S. Congress in April this year.
Earlier, the U.S. Department of Defense announced on the 2nd of this month that the U.S. military will send more fighter jets and warships to the Middle East. The U.S. F-22 "Raptor" stealth fighter arrived in the Middle East on the 8th to strengthen the U.S. military's military power in the Middle East and respond to regional tensions.
The US State Department also said on the 9th that the US will not impose sanctions on the Israeli army's "Yehuda Victory Battalion". US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that after evaluating the information provided by the Israeli government, a State Department expert group determined that the human rights violations of the "Yehuda Victory Battalion" had been "effectively corrected" and that the unit would continue to receive US security assistance.
The "Yehuda Victory Battalion" is an all-male infantry battalion composed of Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jews and religious nationalists. It was previously stationed in the West Bank for a long time and has been exposed for many violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people. Its most well-known recent incident is the tragic death of Omar Assad in 2022.
Assad, who was nearly 80 years old and had dual American and Palestinian citizenship, died after being stopped and restrained for a long time at a checkpoint in Camp Yehuda. A U.S. official said that the two Israeli soldiers involved were not prosecuted in the end and left the army after being transferred from combat positions.
This is the landmark Freedom Tower photographed in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on January 1, 2021. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Ahmed Halabisas)"Legitimate self-defense"
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy received more than 2,600 domestically-produced weapons and equipment on the 9th, including stealth cruise missiles equipped with powerful warheads.
On the same day, Iranian media quoted the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Fadavi, as saying that Iran will carry out the order of Supreme Leader Khamenei to severely punish Israel and avenge Hamas Politburo leader Haniyeh. This order is "clear and precise" and will be "implemented" in the best way.
Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations was asked on the 9th whether it would postpone its retaliation until after the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip next week. The Iranian delegation responded that Iran hopes that the timing and method of its actions will not harm the possible ceasefire. Iran regards a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as a priority and will recognize any agreement accepted by Hamas.
In addition, the Iranian delegation stated that "the recent terrorist acts of the Israeli regime violate our national security and sovereignty. We have a legitimate right to self-defense, which is completely unrelated to the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip."
Israel has agreed to resume negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of detainees in the Gaza Strip on the 15th of this month. Since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israel and Hamas have held multiple rounds of negotiations. Since the two sides agreed to a brief ceasefire and release some of the detainees in November last year, there has been no progress in the negotiations.
The Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip continued on the 10th. According to the Hamas media office, the Israeli army bombed a school in Gaza City that day, killing more than 100 people and injuring dozens of others. Egypt, one of the mediators of the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, subsequently issued a statement condemning Israel's "deliberate killing" of Palestinian civilians, saying that this showed that Israel had no political will to end the war in the Gaza Strip. (Chen Lixi)
