“World cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” says UN boss
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has raised deep concerns over the growing tensions between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, saying the world “cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
The U.N. boss told newsmen in New York that an outbreak of war is imminent with the growing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah along the Blue Line.
While calling for caution against a wider regional conflict in the Middle East, Guterres said: “One rash move – one miscalculation — could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination.”
“Let’s be clear: The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” he said.
The UN chief also drew attention to Israeli forces targeting several towns in southern Lebanon by explosions, causing forest fires that spread and threatened residential areas, adding that such incidents “pose additional threats to people in both Israel and Lebanon and to United Nations and humanitarian personnel.”
He called for the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, and the immediate cessation of hostilities while protecting civilians, noting that “Children, journalists, and medical workers should never be targeted.”
Guterres stressed that “the cessation of hostilities and progress toward a permanent cease-fire is the only durable solution” to bring about peace in the region.
As Tel Aviv continued its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 37,400 people since October 7 of last year after an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, tensions along Lebanon’s border with Israel escalated amid cross-border attacks between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
