UN secretary-general António Guterres has warned that the world cannot “afford Lebanon to become another Gaza” as tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah group in neighbouring Lebanon intensify,
The Guardian reports.
“One rash move – one miscalculation – could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination,” he told reporters on Friday. “Let’s be clear: The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
Earlier this week the Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, said a decision on an all-out war with Hezbollah was coming soon, and Israeli generals announced that they had signed off planning for an offensive into Lebanon.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been exchanging almost daily rocket fire with Israel since the Gaza war erupted in October, forcing tens of thousands to flee homes on both sides of the border.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said on Friday that Hezbollah has the capability to defend itself and Lebanon against Israel, warning that “perhaps the time for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime has come.”
