UN officials warn ‘miscalculation’ could lead to wider Hezbollah-Israel conflict

The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the head of UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, Aroldo Lazaro, said they were “deeply concerned” about the recent escalation along Lebanon’s border.

Hezbollah last week launched the largest volleys of rockets and drones yet in the eight months it has been exchanging fire with the Israeli military, in parallel with the Gaza war.

“The danger of miscalculation leading to a sudden and wider conflict is very real,” the two officials announced in a written statement on Saturday.

The United States and France are working on a negotiated settlement to the hostilities along Lebanon’s southern border.

Hezbollah warned the Israeli regime of a crushing and decisive response in case of expanding the scope of its war on Lebanese soil, stressing it will not halt fire unless Israel’s military offensive on Gaza stops.

The Israeli regime has repeatedly attacked southern Lebanon since October 7, 2023, when it launched a ferocious war on the besieged Gaza Strip that has so far killed about 37,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

In retaliation, Hezbollah has launched near-daily rocket attacks on Israeli positions in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

In its biggest attack since October 8, Hezbollah fired on Wednesday around 30 drones and 150 rockets at Israel in reprisal for the recent killing of Sami Abdallah.

Hezbollah has already fought off two Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. The resistance forced the regime to retreat in both conflicts.