UN Warns: Escalating Hezbollah-Israel Clashes Could Trigger Full-Scale War

The United Nations has raised concerns that the escalating exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel could lead to a full-scale war. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric emphasized the need to avoid further escalation.

Dujarric highlighted the intensifying clashes across the Blue Line, the U.N.-defined boundary between Israel and Lebanon, following the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander by Israel on Wednesday.

“We reiterate that the risk of miscalculation leading to a broader conflict is very real,” Dujarric stated. “A political and diplomatic solution is the only viable way forward.”

He noted that the Lebanese Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee expressed support for the U.N. peacekeeping force along the Blue Line and for the 2006 U.N. resolution that called for a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel during the Lebanon war.

The United Nations is urging both parties to cease hostilities and recommit to implementing the 2006 resolution.

On Thursday, the U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, met with Lebanese officials, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, to stress the importance of de-escalation across the Blue Line.

International diplomats are working urgently to prevent the frequent clashes between Israel and Hezbollah from escalating into a wider conflict, which could potentially involve a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran, Hezbollah’s main supporter. Hezbollah has stated it will halt its attacks if Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas in the ongoing Gaza conflict.

While some Israeli officials are pursuing a diplomatic resolution to avoid war, they have warned that if conflict breaks out, the destruction seen in Gaza could also occur in Lebanon. Hezbollah is considered significantly more powerful than Hamas, possessing a large arsenal of rockets and missiles capable of reaching anywhere in Israel.