The risk of a full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon is now extremely high and the situation could escalate into a regional conflict, Russian Ambassador to Beirut Alexander Rudakov said on the Rossiya-24 television channel.
“It is now almost impossible to accurately predict the development of the conflict. But now we can say with confidence that the risk of a full-scale war is extremely high. If the third Lebanese [война]”, as they call it here in the media, begins, it will most likely turn into a regional conflict,” – he pointed out.
“Perhaps the mechanisms of mutual support of the entire axis of resistance will come into play. This is a completely different scale of hostilities, different consequences. In whose interest is this? It is definitely not in the interest of the Lebanese.” – the diplomat added, as quoted by TASS.
As reported EADailyRudakov also noted that the Russian embassy advises Russians to refrain from tourist trips to Lebanon and to leave its territory on commercial flights, “while Beirut airport is operating almost normally.”
According to NBC television, the Pentagon is sending several dozen troops to the Middle East to be prepared to evacuate Americans from the region in the event of a conflict between Israel and the Shiite movement Hezbollah. The White House is said to be concerned about the lack of understanding of Israel’s plans for future actions against Hezbollah.
The day before, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces Daniel Hagari The Lebanese Air Force reported that it carried out strikes against 1,300 Hezbollah military targets across Lebanon in one day. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, more than 490 people were killed and more than 1,600 wounded as a result of the Israeli raids.
