US not providing intelligence support to Israel for Lebanon operations, Pentagon says
PHOTO CAPTION: An Israeli fighter jet takes off at an unidentified location to conduct strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, in this handout photo released September 19, 2024. Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military is not providing intelligence support to Israel for its operations in Lebanon, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh also said no Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon appeared imminent, but referred reporters to Israel for questions about its operations and plans.
Asked about whether the United States was supporting Israel's operations in Lebanon, including with intelligence support, Singh said: "No. No support."
"When it comes to Lebanon, the U.S. military has no involvement in Israel's operations," Singh said.
It was unclear whether Singh's remarks applied to the sharing of any real-time U.S. intelligence on Hezbollah missiles that might be heading toward Israel.
Israel's military chief told troops on Wednesday that airstrikes in Lebanon would continue in order to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and to prepare the way for a possible ground operation by Israeli forces.
Singh said the United States government was making diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation between Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli airstrikes this week have targeted Hezbollah leaders and hit hundreds of sites deep inside Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands have fled the border region, while the group has fired barrages of rockets into Israel.
"You're seeing a full-court press here from United States government and this administration. We want to see a diplomatic solution, and we want to see it urgently," Singh added.
U.S. President Joe Biden said an all-out war was possible in the Middle East but there was also the possibility of a settlement in Israel's conflicts in Gaza and with Hezbollah.
The United States and France are trying to hammer out an interim accord to halt hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah with a view to opening broader diplomatic talks, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides added.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; writing by Phil Stewart; editing by Chris Reese and Jonathan Oatis)
