WASHINGTON (AFP)
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed that the United States was dedicated to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon and urged Israel to improve "dire" conditions in Gaza, in a call Saturday with his Israeli counterpart.
Austin "reiterated US commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border" in his call with Israel Katz, a Pentagon spokesperson said.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in Lebanon and Israel this week, meeting with both countries' senior officials, to try to negotiate an end to the war.
In the call Austin also "urged the Government of Israel to continue to take steps to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza and emphasised the US commitment to securing the release of all hostages, including US citizens."
Israel's retaliatory campaign has led to the deaths of 44,176 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.
Lebanon said Saturday an Israeli air strike in the heart of Beirut that brought down a residential building killed at least 15 people.
Israel stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah in late September, targeting its strongholds in Lebanon.
The health ministry in Beirut says more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, when Hezbollah began trading fire with Israel in solidarity with Hamas.
The United Nations and others have repeatedly decried humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the north of the Palestinian territory.