Hezbollah tells US to halt Israel's Gaza attack to prevent wider war

The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group warned the US Friday that if Israel did not stop its assault on Gaza then the conflict could widen into a regional war.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in his first speech since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct 7, also threatened the US, Israel's main ally, hinting his group was ready to confront US warships in the Mediterranean.
Hezbollah has been engaging Israeli forces on the Lebanon-Israel border in the biggest flare-up since it fought a war with Israel in 2006.
"You, the Americans, can stop the aggression against Gaza because it is your aggression," Nasrallah said. "Whoever wants to prevent a regional war, and I am talking to the Americans, must quickly halt the aggression on Gaza."
He added that Hezbollah did not fear the US naval firepower Washington has assembled in the region since the crisis erupted.
"You, the Americans, know very well that if war breaks out in the region, your fleets will be of no use, nor will fighting from the air be of any benefit, and the one who will pay the price will be... your interests, your soldiers and your fleets," he said.
The US urged Hezbollah not to "take advantage" of the Israel-Hamas war after Nasrallah said "all options" were open.
"We and our partners have been clear: Hezbollah and other actors — state or non-state — should not try to take advantage of the ongoing conflict," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Nasrallah's remarks coincided with a visit to Tel Aviv by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his second tour of the region in less than a month to show support for close ally Israel in its confrontation with Hamas.
Blinken urged Israel to temporarily stop its military offensive to allow for aid to enter Gaza, but he faced pushback from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who rejected any such halt unless hostages held by Hamas are freed.
In one Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, a local journalist working for the official Palestine TV and at least nine of his immediate family were killed in their house, relatives and health officials said.
More than 300 foreign passport holders and dependents entered Egypt from Gaza Friday through the Rafah crossing, along with a small group of medical evacuees, according to Egyptian and Palestinian officials.
France said 34 of its nationals were among those who left.
The White House said 100 US citizens and family members left Gaza on Thursday and said another large group of Americans was expected to leave Friday.