US, EU, others urge Israel to avoid escalation in Lebanon
The international community urges restraint as Israel launches a massive attack on Hezbollah, with Egypt calling for UN intervention and the US opposing escalation.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFSmoke rises after an explosion was heard in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/ISSAM ABDALLAH)
Various countries have come out with statements urging Israel to avoid escalation in Lebanon following the IDF’s largest attack on Hezbollah since 2006.
According to the IDF, over 1,600 terror targets were attacked throughout Monday, as Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets across northern and central Israel, including areas within the West Bank. Furthermore, the IDF has officially announced the name of its operation against Hezbollah on Israel's northern front: Northern Arrows.
Egypt
On Monday night, Reuters reported that Egypt's foreign ministry called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene immediately to stop the escalation in Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia
Shortly after, Saudi state news expressed concern over the situation in Lebanon, urging both the IDF and Hezbollah to exercise restraint.
EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF Josep Borrell joins US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers during NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, in July. (credit: KEN CEDENO/REUTERS)
The European Union
“The escalation between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah is almost a full-fledged war,” Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said in a conversation with reporters at the UNGA.
"If this is not a war situation, I don't know what you would call it."
The United States
Additionally, Reuters reported that a US State Department official does not support any escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
"I can't recall, at least in recent memory, a period in which an escalation or intensification led to a fundamental de- escalation and led to profound stabilization of the situation," the official said.
"We obviously do not believe that a ground invasion of Lebanon is going to contribute to reducing tensions in the region."
