Israel warned the U.S. that an operation in Lebanon was coming but gave no details, officials say
CTV
Israel warned U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in a call Tuesday that a military operation was going to take place in Lebanon but gave no details, U.S. officials said Thursday. The same day of the call, in an attack widely blamed on Israel, thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah militants exploded.
Israel warned U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in a call Tuesday that a military operation was going to take place in Lebanon but gave no details, U.S. officials said Thursday. The same day of the call, in an attack widely blamed on Israel, thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah militants exploded.
The call was one of four between Austin and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant this week as attacks have spiked between Israel and Hezbollah, fueling worries that they could escalate into a wider regional war.
The two spoke again later Tuesday, and the U.S. has acknowledged being briefed following the attack. There was another call Wednesday, and they also spoke Sunday, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.
The officials said the U.S. did not get advance warning of the second wave of attacks, with walkie-talkie radios targeted Wednesday. At least 37 people were killed, including two children, and some 3,000 wounded in the two days of explosions.
The officials stressed that the U.S. played no role in the attacks and said they were surprised by the specifics of the operations.
The attacks on electronic devices this week appeared to be the culmination of a monthslong operation by Israel to target as many Hezbollah members as possible all at once -- but civilians were also hit.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh on Thursday acknowledged the four calls but did not provide timelines of when they happened. She said the U.S. has not made any changes in its force posture in the region as a result of the recent surge in attacks.
