UNIFIL Commander: Danger of Escalation on Lebanon-Israel Border is Real

The commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Aroldo Lazaro, said on Wednesday the danger of escalation on the Lebanon-Israel border was real.
Hostilities between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel have rumbled on in parallel to the Gaza war for more than six months, fueling concern about the risk of a wider conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.
Hezbollah says it would stop firing rockets once a ceasefire is reached in the Gaza Strip that would end the Israel-Hamas war.
“UNIFIL calls for a return to the cessation of hostilities, and a move towards a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict”, Lazaro said in a statement.
“The danger of escalation is real. There is no military solution to the current confrontation and violence; a political and diplomatic solution is the only way forward,” he added.
Lazaro urged “all parties to embrace the spirit of unity and compassion that Eid represents, and seek the path of peace.”