Israel taking Middle East to 'brink of all-out war,' warns Lebanese envoy

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a continued "state of war" to avoid the fall of his coalition, taking the Middle East to the brink of an all-out war, said Lebanon's envoy to the UK on Thursday.

Ambassador Rami Mortada called the communication devices blasts in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday "another war crime" and a "typical behavioral pattern of Israeli warfare tactics."

"They've done similar war crimes in the past, and here they are doing it again, and putting the region at the brink of an all-out war, which we have been trying to avoid for a year," he told Sky News.

He went on to say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to put this country "at the continual state of war, to put off the risk of the fall of his coalition and ... corruption charges at court."

"So the whole region is hostage to Netanyahu’s political fate," Mortada added.

Saying that there were "promising" signs in cease-fire talks to avoid further escalation, he noted the Israeli government is "doing its utmost" to undermine the Gaza cease-fire negotiations "through expanding the war and putting the whole region on the brink of an all-out war."

- 'Israel involving new stakeholders in conflict'

He warned that everyone will be hurt in such a scenario, stressing that the Lebanese government does not want wars.

However, the ambassador stressed that to avoid escalation, there is a need for cooperation from Israel.

"We don't see the Israeli government ready for such de-escalation. It's rather the opposite. They are doing their utmost to involve new stakeholders in this, in this conflict, and that's pretty worrying," stated Mortada.

Asked whether he accepted that Israel has been provoked, the Lebanese ambassador replied: "Has been provoked? How do you explain more than 40,000 innocent civilians killed in Gaza."

"No one has admitted what happened on Oct. 7. But this should have been an occasion for modesty, an occasion to work for peace in the region. Unfortunately, Israel took a totally different turn, and here we are faced with a regional war."

Saying that Israel has a "very provocative pattern of behavior" towards Lebanon, including targeting journalists, civilians, and deep down into Lebanese territory, he stressed the need to reverse this trend and back to normalcy.

"I see a dwindling ruling coalition in Israel, and I've always said Netanyahu is like riding a bicycle. The moment he stops, he would fall. So, he needs to put his country continuously on a path of war and violence, because the moment he stops, he would face the consequences internally," added the ambassador.

- 'Closest to regional war since 1970s'

Asked about the Saudi Arabian envoy's warning that the Middle East is closest to regional war since the 1970s, Ambassador Mortada replied: "Indeed, he is right."

"This simultaneous and indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and that doesn't matter whether they're members of an armed group or civilians, amounts to a war crime, according to the United Nations," he said.

He further explained that it is a "war crime" because "they did not have prior knowledge of the location of who was using these devices, and of the surrounding of the devices, and yet, they detonated 5,000 devices in Lebanon, which killed children, civilians and people not associated with Hezbollah."

In an interview with Sky News, Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's envoy to the UK, said that the situation on the ground is getting worse and it is time to put in "renewed efforts" to stop fighting.

"The situation on the ground is getting worse and worse... I think this is the closest we've been to a regional war since 1973," he said in the interview late Wednesday.

At least 32 people were killed and more than 3,250 injured on Tuesday and Wednesday in wireless device explosions that targeted thousands of pagers and Icom wireless units used by members of the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah and medics across Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel has not commented on the blasts, but it has been widely blamed, especially in the Middle East. Unconfirmed reports say the devices had explosives implanted inside them.

The blasts came amid mounting border escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Tel Aviv’s deadly onslaught against the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7.