Egypt in contact with relevant parties to contain Israeli escalation against Lebanon

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) – Egypt has established contacts with "relevant parties" in an attempt to contain Israel's current escalation against Lebanon and prevent the region from devolving into a major war.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during phone calls with Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib informed them on his contacts with relevant parties to contain Israeli aggression, according to a statement released by his ministry following the conversations.

The top diplomat informed Lebanese officials on Egyptian contacts to avoid dragging the region into a wide-scale war.

Both sides have agreed to continue consultations to coordinate efforts to reduce tension and escalation, the ministry added.

On Saturday, a rocket attack on the Druze village of Majdal Shams on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 children and injured several others while they were on the football pitch.

Immediately after, Tel Aviv vowed swift retaliation against Hezbollah, blaming it for the attack that Hezbollah vehemently denied.

Fears have grown about a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between the two sides.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed more than 39,300 people since last October, following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar