Pentagon 'furious' at Israel for Nasrallah attack, reports say
Lloyd Austin is said to have expressed anger towards his Israeli counterpart for delaying the notification that the Hezbollah chief would be killed until the last minute. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reportedly expressed intense frustration during a phone call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after he learned at the last minute about Israel's plan to assassinate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Nasrallah was killed in a significant Israeli airstrike on his underground compound in Beirut on Friday. The Israel Defense Forces claimed that the strike resulted in the deaths of 20 senior Hezbollah officers along with Nasrallah, although the exact number of civilian casualties remains uncertain.
In response to the airstrike, the US promptly denied any involvement. President Joe Biden stated that he had “no knowledge” of the planned attack, while Austin informed reporters that he had “no advance warning” and only spoke to Gallant “while the operation was actually already underway.”
Citing unnamed sources, the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday that Austin was “furious” about not receiving advance notice from Gallant. The newspaper noted that Austin and Gallant have communicated via phone more than 125 times since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict last year, emphasizing that Austin “essentially lost it with Gallant over the Nasrallah killing and the short notice provided.”
An anonymous US official conveyed to Axios that while “Nasrallah was a bad guy,” it was “frustrating that the Israelis are doing this without consulting us and then ask that we clean up when it comes to deterring Iran.” According to sources from Axios, Gallant requested that Austin issue public statements aimed at deterring Iran from launching a retaliatory attack against Israel following Nasrallah’s death.
Regardless of their private conversation, Austin complied with Gallant’s request. The Pentagon’s readout of another call with Gallant on Saturday indicated that Austin “stressed that the United States is determined to prevent Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies from exploiting the situation or expanding the conflict.”
“The Secretary made it clear that the United States remains postured to protect US forces and facilities in the region and committed to the defense of Israel,” the readout went on.
Nasrallah's assassination occurred just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a ceasefire proposal, authored by American and French officials, which had urged Israel to suspend attacks on Lebanon for 21 days to facilitate discussions with Hezbollah. American and other Western sources indicated that Netanyahu had initially agreed to the proposal before suddenly retracting and pledging to continue aggressive actions against Lebanon “with full force.”
Additionally, just days before Nasrallah's death, a sabotage operation resulted in the simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon, leading to at least 37 fatalities and over 3,000 injuries, many of whom were women and children. This operation is widely believed to have been conducted by Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, yet, similar to the airstrike that killed Nasrallah, the US claimed it had no prior knowledge or involvement in the mission.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
Nasrallah was killed in a significant Israeli airstrike on his underground compound in Beirut on Friday. The Israel Defense Forces claimed that the strike resulted in the deaths of 20 senior Hezbollah officers along with Nasrallah, although the exact number of civilian casualties remains uncertain.
In response to the airstrike, the US promptly denied any involvement. President Joe Biden stated that he had “no knowledge” of the planned attack, while Austin informed reporters that he had “no advance warning” and only spoke to Gallant “while the operation was actually already underway.”
Citing unnamed sources, the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday that Austin was “furious” about not receiving advance notice from Gallant. The newspaper noted that Austin and Gallant have communicated via phone more than 125 times since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict last year, emphasizing that Austin “essentially lost it with Gallant over the Nasrallah killing and the short notice provided.”
An anonymous US official conveyed to Axios that while “Nasrallah was a bad guy,” it was “frustrating that the Israelis are doing this without consulting us and then ask that we clean up when it comes to deterring Iran.” According to sources from Axios, Gallant requested that Austin issue public statements aimed at deterring Iran from launching a retaliatory attack against Israel following Nasrallah’s death.
Regardless of their private conversation, Austin complied with Gallant’s request. The Pentagon’s readout of another call with Gallant on Saturday indicated that Austin “stressed that the United States is determined to prevent Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies from exploiting the situation or expanding the conflict.”
“The Secretary made it clear that the United States remains postured to protect US forces and facilities in the region and committed to the defense of Israel,” the readout went on.
Nasrallah's assassination occurred just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a ceasefire proposal, authored by American and French officials, which had urged Israel to suspend attacks on Lebanon for 21 days to facilitate discussions with Hezbollah. American and other Western sources indicated that Netanyahu had initially agreed to the proposal before suddenly retracting and pledging to continue aggressive actions against Lebanon “with full force.”
Additionally, just days before Nasrallah's death, a sabotage operation resulted in the simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon, leading to at least 37 fatalities and over 3,000 injuries, many of whom were women and children. This operation is widely believed to have been conducted by Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, yet, similar to the airstrike that killed Nasrallah, the US claimed it had no prior knowledge or involvement in the mission.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
