US Defense Secretary Austin: 'We've committed to helping Israel defend itself for whatever it takes'

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin refused to declare that the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is already a full-fledged war when asked by a journalist on Tuesday if he believes that Israel can fight a war with Hamas and Hezbollah simultaneously.

“While we've seen a lot of activity on Israel's northern border, we remain concerned about the potential of this escalating into a full fight. And I don't believe that a fight is inevitable,” Austin responded, adding that the Biden administration wants to see the conflict resolved diplomatically.

“As to whether or not Israel can manage a war in Gaza and a fight in Lebanon at the same time, Israel will do what it needs to defend itself, and it's demonstrated that time and again,” Austin added. “We've committed to helping Israel defend itself for whatever it takes, and certainly that's not a scenario that we'd like to see occur. We'd like to see things resolved in a diplomatic fashion going forward.”

Austin’s remarks came just days after Hezbollah killed 12 Israeli-Druze children playing in a soccer field in the predominantly Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on Saturday.

The U.S. rushed to lead an effort to pressure Israel from defending itself against Hezbollah after the Majdal Shams attack, telling the Israeli government to refrain from taking military action against Hezbollah in Beirut, where its senior leadership, forces and infrastructure are embedded among civilians and in civilian areas in Lebanon.

On Sunday, a BBC News report suggested that U.S. President Joe Biden’s Middle East envoy, Amos Hochstein, may have leaked information about Israeli strike preparations to the Lebanese government, as claimed by Maj.-Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, the former head of Lebanon's General Security Service.

“As soon as he obtained information about any activity that was supposed to be carried out on Lebanese soil, he would warn us and say that the Israelis are ready to respond,” Ibrahim reportedly told the BBC. 

Austin was also asked if the Biden administration would help defend Israel if “a full-scale war breaks out with Hezbollah,” similar to the assistance the U.S. provided when Israel was directly attacked by Iran on April 13, when the regime launched 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles directly toward Israel.

The defense secretary responded: “If Israel is attacked, will we help to defend Israel? If Israel is attacked, yes, we will help Israel defend itself. We've been clear about that from the very beginning. But again, we don't want to see that happen. What we want to see happen is things resolve in a diplomatic fashion.”

Efforts to secure a ceasefire and a hostage release deal, as well as a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, continued on Tuesday with U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken speaking with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussing the latest developments.

Blinken “emphasized the importance of a ceasefire agreement to furthering broader regional stability, including by unlocking the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the conflict across the Blue Line” on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.