"This is something we were not aware of or involved in," Blinken said, according to a transcript shared by his staff from an interview with Channel News Asia in Singapore.

Blinken added that he would not speculate about the impact on cease-fire efforts. "But I can tell you that the imperative of getting a cease-fire, the importance that that has for everyone, remains.”

There was no immediate reaction from the White House to the killing of Haniyeh. A key question was whether Israel told its top ally the U.S. ahead of time about the strike, according to AP report.

Israel declined to comment on the Tehran strike, which came after it struck a Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut on Tuesday, targeting a senior commander of the Lebanese group it blamed for a deadly weekend rocket strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Earlier this month, Israel carried out a strike in Gaza targeting the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, killing at least 90 Palestinians living in nearby tents. Israel said it believed Deif was killed, but neither it nor Hamas has confirmed his death.

Washington is Israel's key military backer and has been pushing for a Gaza ceasefire, which Blinken said remains "manifestly in the interests" of the Israeli captives and Gazans who have been "caught in this crossfire of Hamas's making".

Blinken stated that the Gaza ceasefire is also key to preventing the conflict from spreading to the rest of the region.

"We've been working from day one not only to try to get to a better place in Gaza but also to prevent the conflict from spreading, whether it's the north with Lebanon and Hezbollah, whether it's the Red Sea with the Huthis, whether it's Iran, Syria, Iraq, you name it," he told a forum in Singapore.

"A big key to trying to make sure that that doesn't happen, and that we can move to a better place, is getting the ceasefire."

Follow us on:

Facebook

Instagram

Whatsapp