US Secretary of State Warns of Iran's Involvement in Israel War... Death Toll on Both Sides Exceeds 6,000

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken on the 22nd (local time) once again expressed concerns that Iran's involvement in the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas could escalate the conflict across the Middle East. He also added that it would be difficult for Hamas to return to the previous state of governing Palestine. Since the war began with Hamas's surprise attack on the 7th, the death toll on both sides has been reported to exceed 6,000.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Secretary Blinken appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" that day and said, "Israel cannot return to the previous state, and no country would accept such a state."

He diagnosed, "It is impossible for Hamas to return to the state of governing Gaza," and at the same time, "Israel has no intention of governing Gaza itself." He continued, "Israel cannot return to the state of having suffered a horrific terrorist attack," adding, "A solution is needed where Hamas does not carry out such attacks and Israel's governance is not restored."

Secretary Blinken also reiterated concerns about the possibility of Iran, identified as the force behind Hamas, directly intervening in the war. He suggested the possibility of involvement by Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, saying, "I believe there is a possibility that the conflict could escalate due to attacks by Iran's proxies." Sporadic clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have been confirmed in areas near the northern Lebanon border. Secretary Blinken emphasized, "We do not want the conflict to expand to second or third fronts, nor do we want to enter a state of hostilities, but if that happens, we are prepared."

On the same day, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also appeared on ABC and expressed concerns about the possibility of the war escalating, stating, "We will not hesitate to take appropriate measures." The night before, Secretary Austin announced the start of deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system and preparations to increase troop deployments in response to rising tensions in the Middle East.

When asked why he does not propose a temporary ceasefire, Secretary Blinken replied, "Israel must do everything to ensure that such a thing does not happen," adding, "Freezing the current state could lead to the same situation repeating in the future, and no country would accept that."

Regarding the humanitarian concern over the water outage in Palestine, he explained, "One of the two pipelines was restored by Israel 6 or 7 days ago, and they are trying to restore the other as well," adding, "Water is included in the relief trucks that have arrived in Gaza, and we hope additional supplies can arrive as early as today." Twenty relief trucks entered Gaza the previous day.

Since the outbreak of the war, the death toll on both sides has exceeded 6,000. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that the total number of Palestinian deaths is 4,651. It is estimated that nearly 1,400 people have died in Israel as well. Local media reported that the number of displaced persons on both sides is estimated to exceed 1.6 million.

Meanwhile, CNN reported on the same day, citing multiple sources, that the U.S. government is discouraging Israel's ground forces from entering Gaza in order to buy time for additional hostage releases and humanitarian aid.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.