United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned Israel not to take further military action in Lebanon, as Hezbollah continues to attack northern Israel.
“One rash move — one miscalculation — could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination,” Guterres said on Friday. “Let’s be clear: The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
The terror group has been bombing northern Israel since October 7, in support of Hamas. Tens of thousands of Israelis have evacuated their homes in response; Hezbollah rockets have since devastated residential buildings, military outposts, and villages. Ten Israeli civilians and 15 Israeli Defense Soldiers have been killed as a result of the conflict on Israel’s northern border.
“The world must say loudly and clearly: immediate de-escalation is not only possible – it is essential. There is no military solution,” Guterres added.
Iran’s U.N. mission supported Hezbollah’s ability to attack Israel, and said that “perhaps the time for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime has come . . . Any imprudent decision by the occupying Israeli regime to save itself could plunge the region into a new war.”
Guterres’s announcement comes days after the Israeli military said it approved “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon,” and had been steadily “increasing the readiness of troops in the field.” Israel has tried to push Hezbollah’s forces further into the north, but the Iran proxy has refused, demanding instead that Israel institute a ceasefire in Gaza. Just this week, Hezbollah hinted at attacking Haifa, a large port city.
“We are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit,” Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday. “The State of Israel will pay a price on the front and home fronts, but with a strong and united nation, and the full power of the IDF, we will restore security to the residents of the north.”
President Joe Biden dispatched U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein to Lebanon to quell tensions and “avoid a further escalation to a greater war,” he said this week.