US calls Hezbollah attack on Tel Aviv 'deeply concerning'

The United States said Wednesday that a missile launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon at Tel Aviv in Israel was "deeply concerning," but that a diplomatic route remains to avoid "all-out war."

"It's certainly deeply concerning, obviously to the Israelis, of course, but also to us," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN.

"There is still time and space for a diplomatic solution here to de-escalate the tensions and to prevent an all-out war."

Speaking separately on NBC's "Today Show," Secretary of State Antony Blinken also urged a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which was unleashed after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel from Gaza.

"Israel has a real and legitimate problem, because here's what happened after the horrific events of October 7 by Hamas in Israel in the south --  Hezbollah from Lebanon joined in and started firing rockets in Israel," Blinken said.

"What everyone wants is to have a secure environment in which people can simply return home, kids can go back to school... the best way to get that is not through war, not through escalation, it would be through a diplomatic agreement."

Discussing the stalled ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel -- which the United States is mediating along with Egypt and Qatar -- Blinken said: "we have a piece of paper, an agreement. It's got 18 paragraphs -- 15 of those paragraphs have been agreed between Hamas and Israel."

"But what's happened over the last few weeks is Hamas has simply not been at the table, not been willing to engage on the remaining outstanding issues."

Kirby said Hamas leader Yahya "Sinwar isn't interested in a ceasefire right now. He's dug in, in a tunnel somewhere surrounded by Hamas."

Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged tit-for-tat cross-border strikes since the October attack, but tensions have soared since late July, when a Hezbollah rocket attack killed 12 children on a soccer field.

In response, Israel said it killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

A day later, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran, in an attack widely attributed to Israel.

Asked Wednesday about the lack of warning from Israel ahead of the Haniyeh assassination, Blinken said: "it's always nice not to be surprised by the action that that someone takes. Certainly that's better."

Blinken was also pressed on the deadly explosions last week of Hezbollah pagers and two-way radios, also attributed to Israel.

"It is something we're looking at," said Blinken, who has denied US involvement.

"You're always looking at what someone is doing, trying to figure out what the second or third order consequences may be. Does it open up a whole new Pandora's box?"