Josep Borrell warns that the assassination of a Hamas leader in Lebanon could lead to an escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the international community must impose a solution to the war between Israel and Hamas, with the two sides unable to agree.
“I believe we have learned over these 30 years that the solution has to be imposed from outside because the two sides will never reach an agreement,” Borrell said at an event in Lisbon, Portugal. Wednesday.
“If this tragedy does not end quickly, the entire Middle East could end up in flames,” he said.
Israel has been bombing the besieged Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, when Hamas fighters from the Palestinian territory stormed into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 240 others hostage, according to Israeli officials.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel declared war, launched a devastating bombardment of Gaza and then ordered a ground invasion that left much of the territory in ruins. More than 22,000 people, mostly women and children, were killed in the Israeli attack, according to Palestinian authorities.
The war reached Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on Tuesday when a senior Hamas official was killed in an explosion. Hamas said its deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri, was assassinated in an Israeli drone strike.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied killing al-Arouri. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said forces were in a high state of readiness and prepared for any scenario.
Husam Badran, a member of the Hamas politburo, said in a eulogy for al-Arouri: “We tell the criminal occupier (Israel) that the battle between us is open. »
Israel had previously accused al-Arouri of orchestrating attacks against its citizens. A Hamas official said al-Arouri was “at the heart of negotiations” by Qatar and Egypt over the release of hostages held by armed groups in Gaza.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said al-Arouri’s death on Lebanese territory was intended to “drag Lebanon” deeper into the war, as the Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah, exchanged almost daily fire with the Israeli forces since the start of the war on October 7. .
“What happened yesterday with the death of one of the Hamas leaders is another factor that could push the conflict to an escalation,” Borrell said.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is due to deliver a speech in Beirut on Wednesday after warning Israel against assassinations on Lebanese soil and promising a “severe response”.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon warned that any escalation “could have devastating consequences for populations on both sides of the border.”
Borrell added that he planned to travel to the Middle East, including Lebanon, to “explore ways out” of the war and would present a proposal to EU member states to create a mission in the Red Sea.
Yemen’s Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea since October in what they see as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Several shipping companies suspended operations across the Red Sea due to the attacks and changed their routes to take a longer journey around Africa.