GENEVA
\nThe UN chief on Friday expressed \u201cprofound\u201d concern over the growing tensions between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, saying the world \u201ccannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.\u201d
\n\u201cI felt compelled today to voice my profound concerns about escalation between Israel and Hezbollah along the Blue Line,\u201d Antonio Guterres told reporters in New York, hinting at \u201cescalation in bellicose rhetoric from both sides as if an all-out war was imminent.\u201d
\nWarning against a wider regional conflict in the Middle East, Guterres said: \u201cOne rash move \u2013 one miscalculation — could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the border, and frankly, beyond imagination.\u201d
\n\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,\u201d he said.
\nHighlighting the loss of lives and many people being displaced with their homes and livelihoods destroyed, the UN chief drew attention to Israeli forces targeting several towns in southern Lebanon by explosions, causing forest fires that spread and threatened residential areas.
\n\u201cUnexploded ordnance and remnants of war litter the landscape,\u201d he said, adding that such incidents \u201cpose additional threats to people in both Israel and Lebanon and to United Nations and humanitarian personnel.\u201d
\nHe urged full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, and immediate cessation of hostilities while protecting civilians.
\n\u201cChildren, journalists and medical workers should never be targeted,\u201d he said.
\nGuterres ruled out \u201cmilitary solution,\u201d saying that it \u201cwill only guarantee more suffering, more devastation to communities in Lebanon and Israel, and more potentially catastrophic consequences for the region.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is time for reason and rationality,\u201d he said, recalling that UN peacekeepers on the ground are working towards de-escalation and helping to prevent miscalculation.
\nGuterres stresed: \u201cThe cessation of hostilities and progress toward a permanent cease-fire is the only durable solution.\u201d
\nHe affirmed UN\u2019s full support to diplomacy for ending violence, restoration of stability and preventing further humanitarian suffering.
\n\u201cAnd we do so as we continue to press for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages and a real pathway to a two-State solution,\u201d he added.
\nMeanwhile, Iran\u2019s mission to UN on X warned Israel over \u201cimprudent decision\u201d leading the region into a new war.
\n\u201cUndoubtedly, this war will have one ultimate loser, which is the Zionist regime,\u201d the mission wrote, adding that Hezbollah \u201chas the capability to defend itself and Lebanon\u2014perhaps the time for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate (Israeli) regime has come.\u201d
\nTensions have soared along Lebanon\u2019s border with Israel amid cross-border attacks between the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv pressed ahead with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 37,400 people since Oct. 7 last year following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GENEVA The UN chief on Friday expressed \u201cprofound\u201d concern over the growing tensions between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, saying the world \u201ccannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.\u201d \u201cI felt compelled today to voice my profound concerns about escalation between Israel and Hezbollah along the Blue Line,\u201d Antonio Guterres told reporters in New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-414005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n