Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Britain said in a joint statement on Monday, that a “significant Israeli ground offensive” in Lebanon must be prevented, warning that such an escalation would have devastating humanitarian consequences, according to Reuters.
Lebanon became involved in the Middle East conflict last week after Hezbollah, the Iran‑backed militant group based in Lebanon, launched strikes on Israel.
These strikes were a response to the joint US-Israel attacks that targeted Tehran and killed the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has been responding with a retaliatory counterattack in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi as a retaliatory move, while launching barrages of missiles and drones toward Israel.
As a result, Israel launched a military offensive that caused the death of over 880 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.
The escalation has displaced more than one million people, with over 130,000 now sheltering in collective centers.
The concerns have been increasing as Israel threatened Gaza-scale devastation in Lebanon.
“A significant Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences and could lead to a protracted conflict,” said the statement by Canada, France, Britain, Germany and Italy.
The statement also stressed their support to the efforts of the Lebanese government to disarm Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
“We are gravely concerned by the escalating violence in Lebanon and call for meaningful engagement by Israeli and Lebanese representatives to negotiate a sustainable political solution,” the countries said.
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