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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Hezbollah’s second in command says Middle East confrontation could expand

Naim Qassem, the group’s deputy secretary general, said the increasingly frequent bombardments of Israel by the group aim to send a clear signal to Israel that an expansion of the ground operation in Gaza will have serious consequences

NEW YORK, November 7. /TASS/. The Lebanese group Hezbollah will step up attacks on bordering Israeli areas and US military sites in the Middle East up to a "complete confrontation" if Israel continues its offensive in the Gaza Strip, Naim Qassem, the group’s deputy secretary general, said in an interview with NBC News.

"Hezbollah participates [in the conflict] for the sake of lowering the pressure on Gaza," he said.

He said the increasingly frequent bombardments of Israel by the group aim to send a clear signal to Israel that an expansion of the ground operation in Gaza will have serious consequences.

"If [Israel and the US] continue in their aggression in this way and escalate this aggression and leave a negative impact that is larger than what is currently happening now, it will increase the situation and will lead to a complete confrontation," Qassem warned.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said on November 6 that it was concerned about the rising numbers of civilian fatalities as the sides of the conflict trade blows. A spokesman for the force said there’s a trend for hostilities to be getting out of hand in border areas.

The last time a conflict broke out between the Shiite militia Hezbollah and the Israeli military was in 2006. UN Security Council Resolution 1701 established a ceasefire on the border, which is now monitored by 12,000 peacekeepers from 36 states.

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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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