Israel 'not eager to start' ground invasion in Lebanon: UN envoy

By Serife Cetin

NEW YORK (AA) - Israel is not eager to carry out a ground invasion in Lebanon and favors a diplomatic solution, Tel Aviv’s UN envoy Danny Danon said Tuesday.

"We are not eager to start any ground invasion anywhere. I don't want to send my son and we don't want to send our boys to fight in a foreign country. But we are determined to protect the civilians of Israel," Danon told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

"We prefer a diplomatic solution," he said. "If it's not working, we are using other methods to show to the other side that we mean business, but we will not run for adventure so fast."

"We will do whatever is necessary to bring the residents back to the north. If nothing will help, then the goal of any operation is to achieve peace and tranquility," Danon added.

Asked if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend the General Assembly, Danon said he is scheduled to arrive Thursday in New York, and he would make his address Friday.

He said, however, that "things are dynamic on what's happening in Israel.”

The Israeli army launched waves of airstrikes in Lebanon since early Monday against what it called Hezbollah targets amid an escalation in warfare between the two sides.

More than 560 victims, including 95 women and 50 children, were killed and 1,835 injured, according to Health Minister Firas Abiad.

*Writing by Servet Gunerigok in Washington