The conflict of interest between Israel and Hezbollah increases continuously and the attacks by the two rivals increase the possibility of a regional war. The latest escalation started when a series of blasts through the connection with the walkie-talkie because of Hezbollah operation in southern Lebanon and Beirut suburbs killing many and wounded. Instead, Israel started a series of air raids to destroy Hezbollah installation, thus making the conflict much more intense.
It has all become more risky, with many thousands of the explosive-rigged pagers going off in Lebanon and this created much panic and destruction. To this, the Hezbollah, an Iran backed militant group fired rockets on the Israeli artillery along the border. The firing activities have raised the tension in the whole area with international students observing increased tendency of the clash to reach extreme levels.
Israel’s military has said that it is ready for any eventuality and has deployed more forces and hardware along the northern frontier. The Israeli government has also appealed to its citizens who are living in the northern region to be on the alert and to those heed to the precaution measures which are provided the authorities. On the Lebanon Government’s part it has called on the international community to intervene in order to curtail the violence and save lives.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has deplored the situation and urged both warring sides to avoid any escalation of hostilities. It is the vital duty of UNIFIL peacekeepers who strive to maintain cease-fire and prevent violent activities along the Blue Line, representing the UN established borderline between Lebanon and Israel, however; it is under great pressure due to the crisis.
The international actors have not taken long to sit up and respond to the rising tensions. The United States, a strong supporter of Israel called on both sides to cool down the tensions for control of any other scale war. The European Union officials have also urged restraint and promised to help facilitate negotiations between the two governments.
These conflicts has been perceived to have potential to destabilize the entire Middle East region. Some people believe that other countries, including Iran, may get involved in the fighting and in turn establish a much larger war. This is quite sensitive bearing in mind the current political stand between Iran and the western world regarding Iran’s nuclear power plant and support to militia groups within the Middle East.
The consequences in economic term has already begin as oil prices hiked due to the possibility of cut supply disrupted by any broader war. Due to the severe economic crisis, Lebanon is highly sensitive and most possibly goes on for a long term conflict.
Despite this, there is increasing pressure to bring hostilities to an end and negotiate a solution to the crisis that led to the war. But as both sides appeared to be keen in asserting their military muscles, Finding a diplomacy to the conflict which has escalated between Israel and Hezbollah is not an easy thing.
As we saw yesterday and earlier in the week, the coming days will be critical if the conflict is going to be limited or the war extends to the rest of the region. The tensions increase and the international community is not sleeping either, as they stand ready to step in armed to stop the violence and keep the order in this by now rather unstable area.
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