United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah must not turn Lebanon into “another Gaza”.
Mr Guterres cited increased “bellicose rhetoric” from both sides as they engage in nearly daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border in parallel with the war in Gaza.
He said they risk triggering a catastrophe “beyond imagination”.
“Let’s be clear: The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” Mr Guterres told reporters.
As Israel and Hezbollah trade cross-border fire, fears of a regional conflict are growing after Israel revealed it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive and the Iran-backed militants vowed to blanket their enemy in rockets.
“The risk for the conflict in the Middle East to widen is real and must be avoided,” Mr Guterres said.
“One rash move – one miscalculation – could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination,” he added.
Experts are divided on the prospect of a wider war, almost nine months into Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hezbollah’s ally Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.
Israel’s main military backer the United States has sought to discourage any expansion of hostilities along the border.
In a meeting with visiting Israeli officials in Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored “the importance of avoiding further escalation in Lebanon and reaching a diplomatic resolution that allows Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes”, according to a statement.
In a televised address on Wednesday,Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned that “no place” in Israel would “be spared our rockets” if a wider war began.
He also threatened nearby Cyprus if it opened its airports or bases to Israel “to target Lebanon”
Cyprus – a European Union member – two UK bases, including an airbase, but they are in sovereign British territory and not controlled by the Cypriot government.
Cyprus government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis dismissed as “totally groundless” any suggestion of possible involvement in a conflict related to Lebanon.
Warplanes from the British airbase in Cyprus have, along with US forces, attacked Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have for months been targeting Red Sea shipping.
The US military said yesterday that it had destroyed several Houthi drones, a day after its forces struck two rebel sites in Yemen.
The Houthis and Hezbollah both say they are acting in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
On Tuesday, Israel’s military announced that “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated”.
The same day, Hezbollah published a video showing drone footage it purportedly recorded over northern Israel, including parts of Haifa’s city and port.
US envoy Amos Hochstein, on a trip to the region, called for “urgent” de-escalation, while UN special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said there was “no inevitability to conflict” as she visited UN peacekeepers in the country’s south.
The cross-border violence has killed at least 479 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also 93 civilians, according to a tally.
Israeli authorities say at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have died in the country’s north.
The violence has already displaced tens of thousands of people, mostly in Lebanon, but also in northern Israel.
