ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday blamed Western powers for supporting Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and spread war in the region.
During a meeting with lawmakers from his ruling AKP party he said that Israel is now eyeing Lebanon and the Western powers are patting Israel on the back and even supporting them to continue with its dangerous plans.
He warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region would lead to a great disaster.
His remarks came at a time as concern soared over the cross-border exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, adding fears it could convert into a fully-fledged war.
The Lebanon border violence started after the war between Israel and Hamas began in Gaza on October 7 last year.
Netanyahu has said Israeli forces are now finishing the most intense phase of the Gaza war and will redeploy to the northern border. Last week, Israel said its plans for a military offensive in Lebanon were validated and approved.
According to the Gaza health ministry, Israel’s relentless bombardment in the besieged territory has killed at least 37,658 Palestinians, mostly women, children and infants. It says the war has also injured 86,237, with 10,000+ believed to be buried under the debris of bombed houses and 9,500 abducted by Tel Aviv.
