Diplomats have been scrambled to ease tensions in the Middle East after electronic devices linked to Hezbollah members exploded in attacks blamed on Israel that killed dozens and propelled the region toward all-out conflict.
The attacks on the Islamist group’s pagers and walkie-talkies killed 37 people and wounded about 3,000. They were believed to be carried out by Israel, which on Thursday bombed southern Lebanon, the same day that envoys from the U.S. and Europe met ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting on Friday.
There are fears that the simmering conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, could escalate, with one Israeli geopolitical analyst telling Newsweek that “we have never been closer to an all-out war.”
Another expert said a war is “a real option, but it is not inevitable,” and the attacks could force both Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon and negotiations with Hamas over the war in Gaza that started with the deadly October 7 raid in Israel by militants.
“We have never been closer to an all-out war, but it can still be avoided as we haven’t crossed the point of no return,” Daniel Shadmy, spokesperson for the non-governmental organization European Leadership Network-Israel (ELNET), told Newsweek.
“As the tit-for-tat between Israel and Hezbollah continues, we are getting closer to a miscalculation and a dramatic escalation of hostilities.”
Read more at Newsweek.com
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