German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock cautioned on Tuesday that “miscalculation” could trigger all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, urging the need for “extreme restraint” as tensions soar.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily cross-border fire since Israel began its war on the Gaza Strip.
“With every rocket across the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel, the danger grows that a miscalculation could trigger a hot war,” Baerbock said on X during a visit to Beirut, referring to the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon.
“All who bear responsibility must exercise extreme restraint,” she added.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on Israeli troops and positions on Tuesday, while Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported Israeli strikes in parts of southern Lebanon.
Baerbock met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who said the best way to reach “a return to calm in south Lebanon is to put an end to the Israeli aggression… and fully apply United Nations (Security Council) Resolution 1701”, a statement from his office said.
The resolution ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and called for the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to be the only armed forces deployed in the country’s south.
Also Tuesday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said three contractors returning home from the peacekeepers’ base in the south Lebanon village of Shamaa “had their vehicle hit by gunfire”, reporting “no serious injuries”.
“We reiterate our condemnation of any attack on civilians, or any action that puts civilian lives in danger,” UNIFIL deputy spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said in a statement, without indicating the source of the fire.
“This includes the locals who continue to reside in their villages and provide essential services to support peacekeepers in their work,” she added.
Ardiel urged all parties “to cease their fire and work toward a diplomatic solution to bring the violence to an end”.
