United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres voiced concern of a possible conflagration between Israel and the Lebanese Shi’ite militia Hezbollah, even after both Jerusalem and Beirut have voiced hope that the latest tensions would not result in war. During a press conference at Lisbon University, the world body’s Secretary General stressed that while efforts are made by International powers to alleviate the situation, the unpredictable climate of the Middle East could trigger one spark into an all-out-war. “The worst nightmare would be if there was to be a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah which, if it now came to happen, and I repeat I hope it won’t, and both the Israelis and Hezbollah have manifested hope that it won’t happen, but sometimes all it takes is a spark to trigger these conflicts in the unpredictability climate in which we live in. If that conflict takes place, the level of destruction that we can expect in Lebanon is absolutely devastating. So, there are strong motives of concern about that matter,” Guterres said.
The concerns raised by the U.N. Secretary General came after the Iranian-proxy Hezbollah threatened Jerusalem that it could act against its energy facilities if necessary, in response to a maritime border dispute between Israel and Lebanon. The situation has rapidly deteriorated after Lebanon decided to put up an offshore energy exploration tender in a disputed area of sea of around 860 square-kilometers, which drew participation of several international corporations, against the will of the Jewish state. The Lebanese move drew condemnations and threats from Israeli officials that declared the disputed territory, which is titled ‘Block 9’, belonged to Israel’s territorial waters.
In response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration, during which he reiterated Jerusalem’s red line with regard to ongoing efforts by Iran to put a so-called “noose of terror” around Israel’s neck that will force Israel to act to defend itself, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the “situation will ramp up tensions all over the region.” “More recently the perception of the Israelis is that there is an increasing presence of Iran through several militias in Syria that are closing in on the Israeli border, and through the potential strengthening of Hezbollah which causes strong tension. I should say I have a deep fear of hard to predict ramping up tensions all over the region,” Guterres said.