Lloyd J. Austin Urges Israel to Scale Back Attacks in or Near Beirut

Middle East|U.S. Defense Secretary Urges Israel to Scale Back Attacks in Beirut Area

• Oct. 19, 2024, 3:07 p.m. ET

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said on Saturday that civilian casualties in Lebanon were “far too high” and that he would “like to see Israel scale back some of the strikes, especially in or near Beirut.”

Mr. Austin is the most senior U.S. official to make that point publicly and in such strong language. He also blamed Hezbollah for hiding its weapons and fighters among the civilian population.

Earlier this week, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said that his government had received “a sort of guarantee” from the Biden administration that Israel would scale back its attacks on Beirut. The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, affirmed on Wednesday that the Biden administration had told Israel that it opposed “near-daily strikes” in “densely populated areas of Beirut.”

“We also understand that what they’re conducting — the operations that they’re conducting to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure — is targeted,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. She added that it was “critical that these operations be conducted in a way” that would not threaten the lives of civilians.

Israel had appeared to limit strikes in and around Lebanon’s capital after Ms. Jean-Pierre’s comments, but on Saturday, the Israeli military struck in the Dahiya, the densely packed urban area near Beirut where Hezbollah holds sway. The attacks appeared to be the heaviest bombardment in the area in days.

Mr. Austin also said he had seen “things being done” in recent days to reverse a sharp decline in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Last Sunday, Mr. Austin and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken wrote in a letter to senior Israeli officials that the nation would face consequences — including a reduction in U.S. security aid — if humanitarian assistance to Gazans did not increase in the next 30 days.

Speaking to reporters after a security meeting of the Group of 7 in Naples, Italy, Mr. Austin did not give more specifics on renewed aid flow to Gaza.

Also on Saturday, Mr. Austin told his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, that he was relieved that a drone that had been launched from Lebanon toward Mr. Netanyahu’s private residence in the coastal town of Caesarea had not injured anyone, according to the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder.