US Secretary of State Departs Israel After Consultations With Leaders

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to depart Israel on Wednesday morning but was unable to leave on schedule because rocket fire from Hezbollah at Tel Aviv and other areas of central and northern Israel temporarily shut down Ben Gurion International Airport. The alarms, which sounded in Tel Aviv, Netanya and Nazareth, as well as smaller communities in central Israel, were caused by two drones that the IDF said it intercepted before they could reach their intended targets.

However, the Israel Police later reported that shrapnel from the intercepts caused damage to a vehicle in Ramat Hasharon, demonstrating the importance of citizens seeking shelter during bombardments, even if the incoming ordnance gets intercepted.

As Blinken was getting ready to depart Israel for Saudi Arabia, the next stop on his regional tour, he told reporters that he had held candid discussions with Israeli leaders and conveyed to them the importance of avoiding steps that would escelate the conflict with Iran and Hezbollah.

“It's also been an imperative for us to try to make sure that this conflict doesn't spread," he declared. "We are resolute in our defense of Israel when it comes to attacks it's receiving from Iran, from Iran's proxies. We stand with Israel and will always stand with Israel and its defense. It's also very important that Israel respond in ways that do not create greater escalation and do not risk spreading the conflict with Hezbollah and Lebanon.”

Meanwhile, the IDF on Wednesday reported that it had eliminated three more Hezbollah field commanders and around 70 fighters in the last 48 hours, in addition to confirming that Hashem Safieddine, a cousin and close associate of the slain leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, had also been eliminated in a previous airstrike.

Blinken aknowledged that the IDF had good reasons to be deployed in Lebanon.

“We're working intensely on the effective implementation of 1701… that many years ago should have avoided what we're seeing now, but didn't, because it's never been implemented,” Blinken said. “It's absolutely critical that the parties, and notably, Hezbollah, be moved back from the border, that the Lebanese Armed Forces are able to assume their responsibilities."