U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin weighed in heavily on the 21-day ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah, while speaking from London where he attended a trilateral meeting of the AUKUS defense ministers. “The situation in Lebanon and northern Israel is deeply troubling. Lebanese Hezbollah, an Iranian backed terrorist group, began firing rockets into Israel unprovoked on the day after the October 7th terrorist assault by Hamas, and Hezbollah has not stopped since,” he said, reported the Pentagon transcript. “And like any other state, Israel has a right to defend itself. And almost a year later, tens of thousands of Israeli and Lebanese civilians still cannot safely return home, and we now face the risk of an all-out war. Another full-scale war, which could be devastating for both Israel and Lebanon. So let me be clear.
“Israel and Lebanon can choose a different path. Despite the sharp escalation in recent days, a diplomatic solution is still viable. A diplomatic solution, not a military solution, is the only way to ensure that displaced civilians on both sides of the border can finally go back home. So, I echo the call of President Biden and President Macron and other leaders yesterday for an immediate 21-day ceasefire.
