American citizens in Lebanon should leave the country while flights are still operating, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said today, amid escalating violence between Israel and “Hamas” along the Israeli-Lebanese border, Reuters reported, writes BTA.
„We want to make sure that there are still passenger flights available for Americans who want to leave, and that they should leave now while those options are still available,” Kirby said on the show. ;Good Morning America“ on “ABC News“ and added that American government representatives are in constant contact with their Israeli counterparts.
US President Joe Biden is determined to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a deal with “Hamas” for the release of the hostages while seeking to de-escalate tensions along Israel's border with Lebanon, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said today.
„He definitely has not given up,” Sullivan said in an interview with MSNBC, hours before Biden addressed the United Nations General Assembly for one last time as president.
The American head of state will meet with world leaders gathered in New York to seek a way to end the fire and reach a deal for the hostages in Gaza, as well as to avoid an all-out regional war in the Middle East, Sullivan said.
Biden noted the challenges on the way to a truce and the agreement of both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of “Hamas” Yahya Sinwar, as above all “Hamas” and Sinuar “do not want a deal”.
„But we are determined to keep trying,” Sullivan said.
Since “Hamas“ attacked Israel on Oct. 7, setting off nearly a year of Israeli retaliation in Gaza, the United States worked to defuse tensions in the region.
The conflict with “Hezbollah“ along the northern Israeli border has flared up periodically since October 7, and now it is already ablaze. Escalation of the conflict has been avoided in previous cases, so a diplomatic solution can be found to lower tensions between Israel and Lebanon to allow people to return home, Sullivan said.