Israel 'warned US' of attack days before Lebanon explosions that killed 37

Israel warned U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin successful a telephone Tuesday that a subject cognition was going to instrumentality spot successful Lebanon but gave nary details, U.S. officials said Thursday

Israel warned U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin successful a telephone Tuesday that a subject cognition was going to instrumentality spot successful Lebanon but gave nary details, U.S. officials said Thursday. The aforesaid time of the call, successful an onslaught wide blamed connected Israel, thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah militants exploded.

The telephone was 1 of 4 betwixt Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant this week arsenic attacks person spiked betwixt Israel and Hezbollah, fueling worries that they could escalate into a wider determination war.

The 2 spoke again aboriginal Tuesday, and the U.S. has acknowledged being briefed pursuing the attack. There was different telephone Wednesday, and they besides spoke Sunday, said the officials, who spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon backstage talks.

The officials said the U.S. did not get beforehand informing of the 2nd question of attacks, with walkie-talkie radios targeted Wednesday. At slightest 37 radical were killed, including 2 children, and immoderate 3,000 wounded successful the 2 days of explosions. The officials stressed that the U.S. played nary relation successful the attacks and said they were amazed by the specifics of the operations.

The attacks connected physics devices this week appeared to beryllium the culmination of a monthslong cognition by Israel to people arsenic galore Hezbollah members arsenic imaginable each astatine erstwhile - but civilians were besides hit.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh connected Thursday acknowledged the 4 calls but did not supply timelines of erstwhile they happened. She said the U.S. has not made immoderate changes successful its unit posture successful the portion arsenic a effect of the caller surge successful attacks.

During a telephone Wednesday with Gallant, Austin spoke astir determination information developments and reiterated America's unwavering enactment for Israel successful the look of threats from Iran, Hezbollah and different Iranian proxies successful the region, Singh said.

Austin "emphasized the U.S. committedness to deterring determination adversaries, deescalating tensions crossed the region, and reaffirmed the precedence of reaching a cease-fire woody that would bring location hostages held by Hamas," she said.

He besides pushed for a diplomatic solution that would let civilians connected some sides of Israel's bluish borderline with Lebanon to instrumentality to their homes, Singh said.

Asked astir the imaginable for a U.S. subject evacuation of American citizens successful Lebanon, Singh said the Pentagon has not gotten a petition from the State Department to bash that. State did impulse U.S. citizens successful Lebanon to support a debased illustration and reappraisal their information consciousness successful alerts this week.

State Department and White House officials accidental determination are longstanding contingency plans for the imaginable evacuation of Americans successful Lebanon but they person nary accusation to suggest that those volition go operational anytime soon.

"We person evacuation plans disposable for places each implicit the world," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Wednesday. "But I wouldn't pb that to judge that we're successful a infinitesimal present wherever we deliberation we request to imminently telephone for that oregon enactment connected that close now."

Other officials said U.S. Navy ships with Marines connected committee are already well-positioned successful the Mediterranean Sea to assistance if asked.