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Live blog update| Israel's war on Gaza

US deputy envoy to UN blames Hezbollah, Iran for escalating tensions

Robert Wood, the US deputy envoy to the United Nations, said that Washington had no involvement in recent attacks in Lebanon, while holding groups like Hezbollah responsible for the violence on the border with Israel.

“Israel has a right to defend itself against Hezbollah’s attacks. No member of this council, facing a terrorist organization on its border, would tolerate daily rocket attacks on its territory and the displacement of tens of thousands of its people,” Wood told the UN Security Council.

He emphasised that the US “continues to believe a diplomatic resolution is the only way to create the conditions for displaced Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return to their homes with safety and security”.

Wood also criticised Iran, saying that "through its sustained supply of weapons and personnel to Hezbollah," the country “appears to have a different agenda.”