– Now it seems that the war that has primarily occurred in Gaza is being extended to Lebanon. Then there will be a more international conflict, says Barth Eide to NRK.
He reminds us that it is not a war with Lebanon, but with Hezbollah.
– But it is happening on Lebanese soil. And then I think poor Lebanon, because they have been through this so many times before, he says.
– Now Israeli leaders say quite explicitly that they want to move the war towards Lebanon, and then we will get the escalation we have feared for so long, says the foreign minister.
It is approaching one year since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October, in which around 1,200 were killed and 250 hostages were taken. In the past year, over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
– The suffering in Gaza is not over. It is only through a ceasefire in Gaza, and the road towards a Palestinian state, that this whole misery can come to some sort of end, says Eide.
On Thursday evening, Israel carried out an extensive air strike in Lebanon, according to security sources on the Lebanese side. According to Israel, there were several hundred targets that were bombed.
Earlier this week, at least 37 people were killed and several thousand injured when hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members exploded. It is believed that Israel was behind the attacks, but Israeli authorities have not confirmed this.
#Barth #Eide #escalation #feared #Middle #East
2024-09-20 06:12:09
