U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Sunday night after a Hezbollah drone strike on a military base in northern Israel killed four soldiers and wounded dozens more.
According to the Pentagon readout, Austin called Gallant “to express his condolences for the IDF soldiers killed in a drone attack from Lebanese [Hezbollah] today.”
Austin “reaffirmed the deep U.S. commitment to Israel’s security, demonstrated today by the announcement of the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to Israel in the coming days,” the statement continued.
The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed on Sunday that the THAAD aerial defense system will be deployed in Israel amid anticipation of Israel’s retaliation for Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month.
“The Secretary also reinforced the importance of Israel taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon] forces and Lebanese Armed Forces, and the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway to provide security for civilians on both sides of the border as soon as feasible,” the statement continued.
In a call with Gallant on Saturday, Austin expressed concern over reports that Israel had fired on UNIFIL soldiers in Southern Lebanon.
Gallant’s office noted in its readout of the call that the Israel Defense Forces is investigating the UNIFIL incident.
“Hezbollah operates and fires in the vicinity of UNIFIL positions, using peacekeeping missions as a cover for its terrorist activities,” the statement said.
“Minister Gallant emphasized that while facing this significant operational challenge, the IDF will continue to take measures to avoid harm to UNIFIL troops and peacekeeping positions.”
Israel has told UNIFIL soldiers to vacate certain areas ahead of its attacks on Hezbollah terror targets.
Austin also mentioned the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“Secretary Austin again raised concern for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed that steps must be taken soon to address it,” according to the readout.
