Egypt, Jordan, Iraq accuse Israel of ‘pushing region into all-out war’

By Laith Al-Jnaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) – Egypt, Jordan and Iraq accused Israel on Wednesday of pushing the region into an all-out war amid deadly airstrikes launched by Tel Aviv on Lebanon.

The foreign ministers of the three Arab countries held a meeting on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

A joint statement by the three countries said stopping the “dangerous escalation underway in the region... begins by halting Israel’s aggression in Gaza.”

They warned that “Israel is pushing the entire region into an all-out war” and called on the international community and the UN Security Council "to bear their responsibilities to stop the war."

Regional tensions have escalated as Israel launched waves of deadly airstrikes on Lebanon since Monday morning against what it called Hezbollah targets amid an escalation in warfare between the two sides.

Nearly 570 people have since been killed and over 1,800 others injured while tens of thousands have been displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar