The United Nations Warns: One Wrong Move By Israel Or Hezbollah Could Park A “Catastrophe That Goes Far Beyond The Border And, Frankly, Beyond Imagination.”
The chief of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has warned that one wrong move by Israel or Hezbollah could spark a “catastrophe that goes far beyond the border and, frankly, beyond imagination.” “The people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” he said. As we read in the New York Times:
After months of escalating violence along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, the chief of the United Nations warned on Friday that “the risk for the conflict in the Middle East to widen is real — and must be avoided.”
Speaking to reporters in New York, the chief, Secretary General António Guterres, said that “one rash move” by Israel or Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese group targeting Israel in allegiance with Hamas fighters in Gaza, could trigger a “catastrophe that goes far beyond the border and, frankly, beyond imagination.”
World leaders have tried for months to calm tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, trying to prevent a full-fledged war. But instead of quelling the conflict, strikes and counterstrikes across the border have become more intense — and the rhetoric of leaders on both sides has only become more bellicose in recent days, prompting Mr. Guterres to express what he called “profound concern” that all-out war would erupt.
“Many lives have already been lost, tens of thousands of people have been displaced and homes and livelihoods have been destroyed,” Mr. Guterres said. He added that “the people of the region and the people of the world cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
He’s not wrong. The head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, even threatened Israel’s maritime neighbor, Cyprus, warning that:
“The Cypriot government must be warned that opening Cypriot airports and bases for the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon means that the Cypriot government has become part of the war and the resistance (Hezbollah) will deal with it as part of the war”
Cyprus immediately responded by declaring its neutrality in the conflict. Although Cyprus has allowed Israel to use its airspace for air drills, obviously Cyprus will not Israel to do this now in the midst of a conflict. Nonetheless, Cyprus and Israel do have a military alliance, and this is where Turkey definitely fits in this quagmire. Half of Cyprus is Turkish, and Turkey sees that land as an extension of itself. Moreover, Turkey and Israel’s relations have declined heavily over Israel’s bloody bombardment of Gaza. Erdogan has made several threats to even invade Israel, warning the Jewish state:
“We are such a great nation and state that our strength, our problem, our struggle is not only limited to our borders. … From now on, we will continue on our path with the motto that we may suddenly knock on your door one night.”
Since Greek Cyprus is in a military alliance with Israel, and half of Cyprus is Turkish, in a fully out war the Turks (who already have enmity with the Greeks) will have their crosshairs on both Greek Cyprus (since its ally with Israel) and the Jewish state, using Turkish Cyprus as a perfect foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean. Moreover, Greece, Egypt, Greek Cyprus and Israel share an energy alliance against Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean where they all get natural gas, and Turkey, seeing these countries as in cahoots, will war against with the hopes of not just expansion, but natural gas as well. Nasrallah’s threat is a presaging sign: Israel is not the only one in danger, but its Greek Cypriot ally as well. Thus, Gutteres is correct, this conflict will spill over beyond Israel.
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