PARIS: World leaders on Tuesday sounded the alarm over fears of a wider regional war after Lebanon suffered its deadliest day in two decades as Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds killed at least 558 people, including women and children, in Lebanon.
After nearly a year of near-daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war started, Israeli bombardment on Monday killed 558 people in Lebanon, including 50 children and 94 women, according to the country’s health ministry. Israeli strikes have raised fears of an all-out war engulfing the Middle East.
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced grave alarm at the escalating situation, large civilian casualties and the plight of those forced from their homes. “We are gravely alarmed by the escalating situation… and the large number of civilian casualties, including children and women,” stated UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The UN refugee agency reported that tens of thousands of people have been displaced, with numbers continuing to rise. “Tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes yesterday and overnight, and the numbers continue to grow,” UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said in Geneva.
The situation has prompted the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to urge against a potential ground invasion of Lebanon aimed at Hezbollah. A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We obviously do not believe that a ground invasion of Lebanon is going to contribute to reducing tensions in the region, to preventing an escalatory spiral of violence.”
European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said, “We are almost in a full-fledged war.” He pointed to the increasing military strikes and civilian casualties, emphasizing the urgent need for all parties to work toward de-escalation. “We are seeing more military strikes, more damage, more collateral damage, more victims… Everybody has to put all their capacity to stop this,” Borrell added.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Hezbollah cannot withstand the conflict alone against a nation backed by Western powers. “We must not allow Lebanon to become another Gaza at the hands of Israel,” he told CNN.
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, expressed concern over the rising tensions and firmly opposed indiscriminate Israeli attacks on civilians. The Chinese foreign ministry later described the military actions as “deeply shocking” and called for an immediate cessation of violence.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for international action to halt the “danger of Israeli escalation” in Lebanon. In a conversation with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, he said that stopping the escalation begins with an immediate end to the war in Gaza.
Qatar condemned the Israeli strikes, labeling them as “aggression” that risks pushing the region to the brink of catastrophe. A statement from the Qatari foreign ministry noted that this escalation “exposes the region to more tensions.”
Russia described the Israeli strikes as “potentially very dangerous” and warned of the risk of complete destabilization in the region. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed Russia’s extreme concern regarding the developments. “Of course that causes us extreme concern and worry,” Peskov said.
