Nearly a full-fledged war in Lebanon, EU's Borrell says
European Chief In New Borrell Picture: Addressed Josep Union Foreign Photo/virginia Policy York Reporters Mayo Ap
The escalation between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah is almost a full-fledged war, the European Union's foreign policy chief said on Monday.
"This situation is extremely dangerous and worrying. I can say that we are almost in a full-fledged war," Josep Borrell told reporters.
"If this is not a war situation, I don't know what you would call it," he said, citing the increasing number of civilian casualties and the intensity of military strikes.
Borrell said efforts to reduce tensions were ongoing, but Europe's worst fears about a spillover were becoming a reality.
He said civilians were paying a high price and all diplomatic efforts were needed to prevent a full-blown war.
"Here in New York is the moment to do that. Everybody has to put all their capacity to stop this path to war," he said.
This comes after the Lebanese health ministry confirmed on Monday that nearly 500 were killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon.
The death toll surpassed that of Beirut’s devastating port explosion in 2020, when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse detonated, killing at least 218 people and wounding more than 6,000.