UNITED NATIONS, July 17. /TASS/. Israel’s neighboring countries are facing the threat of being involved in a large-scale confrontation with it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East.
"Nowadays, we are all responsible for stopping the unfolding human tragedy. In addition to the military operation in the occupied Palestinian territories, Israel’s other neighbors appear to be at risk of being drawn into an all-out confrontation with it," said the top Russian diplomat, who is chairing the UN Security Council in July.
The Russian foreign minister pointed out that tensions along ‘the Blue Line’ between Lebanon and Israel are growing day by day, as "representatives of the Israeli leadership publicly announce their plans to open the northern front."
"Also, Hezbollah gives as good as it gets, warning of its readiness to fight back against the invasion. In Syria, the Israeli Air Force has multiplied its attacks across the country, including on the areas of Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia and the Golan Heights. The key airports and a seaport that played an essential role in urgent humanitarian aid deliveries, including in response to last year’s earthquake, were hit," he added.
Tensions flared up in the Middle East after militants of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas attacked Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, killing residents of border settlements and taking hostages. In response, Israel launched bombardments of the Palestinian enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that the risk of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict spilling over is increasing every day, as Israeli troops and armed groups of the Shiite organization Hezbollah in southern Lebanon are regularly exchanging fire. According to the Janoubia website, since military escalation broke out in southern Lebanon in October 2023, a total of 1,800 residential buildings were razed to the ground and about 10,000 more were damaged in southern Lebanon. For ten months of the conflict, the civilian death toll has reached 104, while Hezbollah and radical Palestinian groups have lost 511 soldiers.