US says all-out war not the way to return people to homes in northern Israel

Israel will not be able to safely get people back into their homes in the north of the country by waging an all-out war with Hezbollah or Iran, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Sunday.

Israel struck more targets in Lebanon on Sunday, pressing Hezbollah with new attacks after killing the Iran-backed group’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Israel’s stated goal is to make its northern areas safe from Hezbollah rocket fire and allow thousands of displaced residents to return.

“An all-out war with Hezbollah, certainly with Iran, is not the way to do that. If you want to get those folks back home safely and sustainably, we believe that a diplomatic path is the right course,” Kirby told CNN. The U.S. is Israel’s longtime ally and biggest arms supplier.

The United States is watching to see what Hezbollah does to try to fill its leadership vacuum “and is continuing to talk to the Israelis about what the right next steps are”, he said.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says more than 1,000 Lebanese were killed and 6,000 wounded in the past two weeks. The government said a million people – a fifth of the population – had fled their homes.

“We have made no bones about the fact that we don’t necessarily see the tactical execution the same way that they do in terms of protection (of civilians),” said Kirby, adding that U.S. support for Israel’s security was iron clad.

Iran said on Saturday it would defend its national and security interests but gave no details. It called for the United Nations Security Council to meet over Israel’s actions.

“We’ve seen the rhetoric coming out of Tehran. We’ll watch and see what they do,” said Kirby.