UNITED NATIONS, September 26. /TASS/. The escalation of the Middle East conflict has led to a full-scale confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah, the worst predictions are coming true in Lebanon, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said at the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.
"We support the convening by the chairmanship of an urgent meeting in connection with the sharp escalation of events in friendly Lebanon and the Lebanon-Israel border area. We thank UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for his report and his assessment of the situation in the region," he pointed out. "The events of the past few days show that our worst predictions are coming true. The escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has caused a wave of instability throughout the Middle East from the Red Sea to Iraq, has led to a full-scale confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah, the main victims of which are civilians on both sides," the senior diplomat emphasized.
Vershinin recalled that since September 23, at least 569 people, including 50 children, have become victims of the most extensive Israeli shelling of Lebanon since 2006, with another 1,835 people injured.
Tensions escalated between Israel and the Shia group Hezbollah after a series of explosions of communication devices in Lebanon on September 17 and 18. The Lebanese movement blamed the explosions on Israel, whose authorities did not comment directly on the incident, but announced the intensification of military operations in the northern direction. In response, the Israeli Air Force launched massive attacks on the border areas of southern Lebanon, and on September 20 attacked Beirut, eliminating 16 commanders of Hezbollah's military wing.