The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres said today that Lebanon must not become another Gaza and condemned the "belligerent rhetoric" of Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, which incites fears of an "unimaginable" catastrophe.
"To be clear, the people of the region and the people of the world cannot allow Lebanon to become another Gaza," Guterres told reporters.
He added that "today he feels obliged to express his deep concern about the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah along the Blue Line," referring to the UN-defined demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel.
"Escalation in the continuation of the exchange of fire. Escalation of warlike rhetoric from both sides as if all-out war is imminent. The risk of the conflict spreading to the Middle East is real and must be avoided. A sudden gesture, a misjudgment can cause a disaster far beyond the borders and is simply unimaginable" , said the UN Secretary General.
The war between Israel and Hamas has sparked a cross-border exchange of fire on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where violence between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian Hamas, has intensified in recent weeks.
Escalating belligerent rhetoric between the two sides is fueling fears of all-out war.
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