The White House expressed confidence Monday that the Middle East will not erupt into a broader war despite Hezbollah’s rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children and teenagers.
Since the attack on Saturday, some Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Israel Katz, warned that the region is on the brink of “all-out war” between Israel, Hezbollah and Lebanon. Israel is already battling the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza after its Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage.
Still, the White House was adamant that a wider, regional conflict would be avoided.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said speculation of an expanded war has been tossed around since Oct. 7.
“Those predictions were exaggerated then, quite frankly, we think they’re exaggerated now,” he told reporters. “Nobody wants a broader regional war and I’m confident that we’ll be able to avoid such an outcome.”
Mr. Kirby emphasized that Israel has every right to defend itself and it was up to the Israelis to determine how to respond to the Hezbollah attack. But said the response doesn’t need to result in a “significant escalation.”
“We certainly don’t believe that, as horrific as this attack was over the weekend, it needs to result in any kind of escalation or risk of a bigger war,” he said.
The cross-border fire between Israel and Lebanon has increased steadily since Oct. 8, when Hezbollah fired rockets and shells at Israeli sites in solidarity with the Hamas attack on Israel the day earlier. Both groups have called for the destruction of Israel.
In response to Saturday’s attack, Israel launched air strikes and missiles into southern Lebanon. It’s unclear how far Israel will go in response to Saturday’s tragedy, the biggest loss of life in Israel since October.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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