Israel has ‘legitimate problem’ with Hezbollah on border, says Blinken

Israel has a legitimate interest in seeking to remove Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, from the borders of northern Israel, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said as he rebuffed calls to take a tougher line over the Israeli bombardment.

Speaking before an emergency meeting of the security council in New York, Blinken emphasised that he would prefer a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but his tone is unlikely to be seen as a warning to Israel to stop, or to reconsider its plan for a ground offensive.

"Israel's got a legitimate problem here. Starting on 8 October, Hezbollah in the north, from southern Lebanon, started lobbing rockets and missiles into Israel," he said. "People living in northern Israel had to flee their homes - about 70,000 - and Israel understandably, legitimately, wants a secure environment so people can return home."

He added: "The best way to get that is through diplomacy, an agreement to pull back forces, allow people to return home in northern Israel - also many Lebanese in southern Lebanon forced from their homes. We want to get people back home. The best way to do that is not war; it's diplomacy."

Blinken also reverted to his claim that it was Hamas, and not Israel, that was holding up a ceasefire agreement in Gaza - the precondition set by Hezbollah to stop the fighting with Israel.

Insisting 15 of the 18 paragraphs in the ceasefire agreement had been signed off, he said: "The problem we have right now is that Hamas hasn't been engaging on it for the last couple of weeks, and its leader has been talking about an endless war of attrition. Now, if he really cares about the Palestinian people, he'd bring this agreement over the finish line."

Blinken added: "Hard decisions remain to be made by Israel. But the problem right now in terms of bringing this across the finish line is Hamas, its refusal to engage in a meaningful way."