"The UN is deeply concerned by the increased intensity of exchanges of fire across the Blue Line yesterday, which increases the risk of a full-scale war," the office of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesman said on Friday. .
“Climbing can and should be avoided. “We reiterate that the danger of a miscalculation leading to a sudden and wider conflagration is real,” he added.
After an Israeli drone killed a senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the militia responded by sending a barrage of 100 rockets into Israel.
The well-entrenched Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has threatened to continue attacks on Israel in solidarity with Hamas under the Israeli assault on Gaza.
Decades-old tensions in the area have intensified since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, which launched a retaliation against Gaza it controls.
In solidarity with Hamas, Hezbollah announced attacks on Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, raising fears of a broader regional conflict.
Civilians have suffered the most from the barrage of attacks between Hezbollah and Israel.
Some 60,000 Lebanese have reportedly been displaced and, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, some 20,000 Israelis have also been forced to flee border areas due to the attacks.
"Israel has effectively lost its sovereignty in the northern quadrant of its country because people are not safe to return to their homes," he said Monday, underscoring the risk of war.
He added that an agreement reached through diplomacy was needed to end security risks and ensure that “forces withdraw.”
The spokesperson's office also emphasized that a “political and diplomatic solution is the only viable path forward.”
Indian peacekeepers are part of the 10,000-strong, 49-nation UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), tasked by the Security Council with working with Lebanese national forces to maintain order in the volatile section. known as the Blue Line that separates Lebanon and Israel. .
Indeed, the mission also acts as a buffer between the two countries that sometimes find themselves caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The spokesperson's office said the Foreign Affairs Committee of Lebanon's Parliament visited UNIFIL to express support for the mission and its mandate on Thursday.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, UN special coordinator for Lebanon, met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati to emphasize "the need to reduce tension across the Blue Line" , she added.
Lebanon's power is weak in the region where Hezbollah controls vast swaths of territory.
Mohammad Naameh Nasser, whom Israel blamed for rockets fired into the country, was the second Hezbollah commander killed in less than a month.
Last month, another Hezbollah commander, Taleb Abdallah, was killed by Israel in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah retaliated with some 150 rockets and drones, but international diplomacy prevented further escalation.
In another peacekeeping mission in the region, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria, 202 Indian soldiers are deployed.
“Climbing can and should be avoided. “We reiterate that the danger of a miscalculation leading to a sudden and wider conflagration is real,” he added.
After an Israeli drone killed a senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the militia responded by sending a barrage of 100 rockets into Israel.
The well-entrenched Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has threatened to continue attacks on Israel in solidarity with Hamas under the Israeli assault on Gaza.
Decades-old tensions in the area have intensified since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, which launched a retaliation against Gaza it controls.
In solidarity with Hamas, Hezbollah announced attacks on Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, raising fears of a broader regional conflict.
Civilians have suffered the most from the barrage of attacks between Hezbollah and Israel.
Some 60,000 Lebanese have reportedly been displaced and, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, some 20,000 Israelis have also been forced to flee border areas due to the attacks.
"Israel has effectively lost its sovereignty in the northern quadrant of its country because people are not safe to return to their homes," he said Monday, underscoring the risk of war.
He added that an agreement reached through diplomacy was needed to end security risks and ensure that “forces withdraw.”
The spokesperson's office also emphasized that a “political and diplomatic solution is the only viable path forward.”
Indian peacekeepers are part of the 10,000-strong, 49-nation UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), tasked by the Security Council with working with Lebanese national forces to maintain order in the volatile section. known as the Blue Line that separates Lebanon and Israel. .
Indeed, the mission also acts as a buffer between the two countries that sometimes find themselves caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The spokesperson's office said the Foreign Affairs Committee of Lebanon's Parliament visited UNIFIL to express support for the mission and its mandate on Thursday.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, UN special coordinator for Lebanon, met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati to emphasize "the need to reduce tension across the Blue Line" , she added.
Lebanon's power is weak in the region where Hezbollah controls vast swaths of territory.
Mohammad Naameh Nasser, whom Israel blamed for rockets fired into the country, was the second Hezbollah commander killed in less than a month.
Last month, another Hezbollah commander, Taleb Abdallah, was killed by Israel in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah retaliated with some 150 rockets and drones, but international diplomacy prevented further escalation.
In another peacekeeping mission in the region, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria, 202 Indian soldiers are deployed.
