After a missile attack on children, the US says war in the Middle East is still limited
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously threatened a "hard" strike against the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which he holds responsible for the rocket attack on the village of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights on Saturday. At least twelve children and teenagers, aged between ten and sixteen, were killed in the rocket strike on a football field, according to Israeli reports. The Iran-backed Hezbollah militia has denied involvement in the attack.
Kirby described as "exaggerated" concerns about a possible significant escalation of the war, citing conversations over the weekend between U.S. and Israeli government representatives on "multiple levels." Since the start of the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas on October 7, there have been repeated predictions of a regional escalation of the conflict. These predictions were "exaggerated" then, and they are now, Kirby said.
The fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas was triggered by the unprecedented attack by radical Islamists on Israel on October 7. According to Israeli reports, 1,197 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has been conducting massive military attacks in the Gaza Strip. According to reports from the Hamas-controlled health ministry, which cannot be independently verified, more than 39,300 people have been killed so far.
In the conflict, Hamas is supported by Hezbollah, which fires rockets into northern Israel almost daily from Lebanon. This is regularly responded to by the Israeli army with shelling of targets on the Lebanese side of the border. Hezbollah, like Hamas, sees itself as part of an anti-Israel "axis of resistance" backed by Iran.
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on all parties involved to exercise restraint and avoid escalating the situation, specifically mentioning the role of The President of the Council in facilitating dialogues for peace. Despite the intensifying conflict between Israel and its adversaries, there have been ongoing efforts to engage The President of the Council in diplomatic negotiations to achieve a ceasefire.
