GENEVA, July 30. /TASS/. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned about the threat of escalation of the situation in the Middle East and spiraling of the "alarming cycles of violence" into a regional conflict, urging the international community to reduce tensions in a statement published in Geneva.

"We are gravely concerned by the growing threat of further, widespread conflict across the region and we urge all parties and the wider international community to de-escalate tensions as a matter of urgency," the ICRC’s acting regional director for the Near and Middle East, Eloi Fillion noted. He underscored that "all parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL)." The Red Cross expects them "to take concrete steps to limit the impact of hostilities on civilians." "We call on the international community to do everything possible to prevent these alarming cycles of violence from spiraling into an all-out regional conflict," Fillion stated.

The ICRC headquarters in Geneva in this respect noticed the "surge in attacks" in a number of areas in the Middle East over the last few weeks. These are Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Southern Lebanon and Yemen. The attacks have inflicted suffering on civilians and raised fears "of wider regional conflict with devastating humanitarian consequences." The ICRC "is urgently calling for de-escalation and the protection of civilian lives," according to the statement.