US wants to see Israel scale back some of Beirut strikes, Austin says

The United States would like to see Israel scale back some of its strikes in and around the Lebanese capital of Beirut, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday.

"The number of civilian casualties have been far too high," he told reporters at a G7 defense gathering in the Italian city of Naples. "We’d like to see Israel scale back on some of the strikes it’s taking, especially in and around Beirut, and we’d like to see things transition to some sort of negotiation that will allow civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes."

Tens of thousands of people have fled Beirut's southern suburbs — once a densely populated zone that also housed Hezbollah offices and underground installations — since Israel began regularly targeting the zone approximately three weeks ago.

On Saturday afternoon, Israel carried out heavy strikes on several locations in the city's southern suburbs, leaving thick plumes of smoke wafting over the city horizon throughout the evening.

The strikes came as Hezbollah fired salvos of rockets at northern Israel, with one drone directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home, his spokesperson said.