Syrian President Bashar Assad believes that the United States' continued supplies of lethal weapons to Israel and its attacks on various areas in the Middle East threaten to expand the regional conflict, the Syrian government said on Sunday.
"President Bashar Assad expressed his belief that the US behavior regarding the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip threatens to expand the conflict due to the continued supply of lethal weapons to the Zionist entity [Israel] and Washington's attacks on various areas in the Middle East," the Syrian government said in a statement.
The Syrian president also voiced his opinion that the West and Israel were deliberately escalating conflicts with Palestine, Syria and Lebanon to get out of the impasse they got stuck in. International organizations, first and foremost the UN Security Council, have proved to be unable to stop Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, he added.
Assad made the statement during his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Damascus, the statement read.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 28,100 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.