“Let us be clear: the people of the region and the world cannot allow Lebanon to become another Gaza. » It was in these terms that António Guterres addressed the press last Friday, aware of the risk of conflagration weighing on the Middle East. And repercussions of which no one knows what the extent could be at a time when tension is dangerously rising between Israel and Hezbollah.
“One rash move – one miscalculation – could trigger a catastrophe that would reach far beyond the border and, frankly, beyond imagination »added the Secretary General of the United Nations.
It is indeed the fear of a regional conflict that is at stake, and the events of recent days are not likely to appease it. After eight months of war, Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed on Sunday that « the intense phase of the fighting against Hamas » was coming to an end.
“This does not mean that the war is about to end, (…) we will be able to redeploy some forces towards the north”, specified the Prime Minister. The objective: to be able to send more troops to the Lebanese-Israeli front to confront Hezbollah.
Washington blows hot and cold
“We can and are ready to fight on several fronts”he declared, while his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, was already talking, last week, about the possibility of “total war” against the Shiite movement.
At the risk of provoking an Iranian reaction? At the same time, the American special envoy for Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, judged ” urgent “from Beirut, a de-escalation and necessary a diplomatic solution in order to avoid heading “towards a bigger war”.
But nothing seems to be going in this direction today. Clashes have increased throughout the front, which stretches 120 kilometers from the Mediterranean to the foothills of the Golan, occupied and annexed by Israel. Hezbollah, which claims the possibility of seeing its numbers reinforced by tens of thousands of fighters from Iran, Iraq, Syria or Yemen in the event of degeneration of the conflict, announced on Sunday that it had targeted two military sites Israelis using explosive drones. Israeli aviation and artillery were also very active this weekend, with around ten Lebanese regions and localities targeted.
“I plan to address the evolving situation on the northern and southern fronts, in Gaza and Lebanon”, declared the Israeli Minister of Defense this Sunday, before taking off towards Washington. Yoav Gallant, who is expected to consult notably with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and CIA Director William Burns, described his agenda as “critical for the future of war”.
His visit to the United States will take place while “the American red light against an Israeli offensive in Lebanon has turned orange”estimates Firas Maksad, a researcher interviewed by the Lebanese daily the Orient-the Dayafter the revelations made by CNN this Saturday.
The American media reported that a senior official of the American administration promised, last week in Washington, to the Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs and the Chief of Staff of the National Security of this country, A “full support” to Israel in the event of all-out war with Hezbollah. Enough to strengthen Netanyahu’s warlike ardor, instead of appeasing them.
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