MADRID, October 3. /TASS/. European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell warned the parties to the Middle East conflict against attacks on nuclear facilities.

"The first message I want to convey today is a firm request, a demand from the EU not to allow attacks on nuclear installations," he said at a forum in Spain. The diplomat's speech was broadcast on the website of the audiovisual service of the European Commission.

"The European Union has always taken a firm position on an attack on any nuclear facility in the world. This was our position on Ukraine or Russia, when such a possibility arose." he said.

"We are faced with the risk of a regional expansion of the war. A hypothetical attack on nuclear facilities would be "extremely dangerous" and would have consequences of "unpredictable scale," he said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking hostages. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave. On September 23, Israel launched Operation Arrows of the North against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, carrying out massive attacks on the Shia group's military installations. Overnight on October 1, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a limited ground operation in Lebanon’s borderline areas.