BEIRUT: The Arab League on Friday warned against 鈥渢he dangerous challenges that would threaten Lebanon and its stability, as well as the whole region鈥檚 stability, in case the war expanded on the southern border.鈥�
Speaking in Beirut, Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki stressed the importance of UN Resolution 1701 in containing the current escalation.
Zaki met various political figures during his visit to Lebanon, including former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
He said the secretary-general of the Arab League had warned since the outset of the 鈥渕onstrous鈥� war on Gaza of the risk of its expansion to other countries in the region, including Lebanon.
The international community must carry out its responsibilities and stop the war, Zaki said, adding that the only way to contain the escalation in southern Lebanon was a complete ceasefire.
Zaki鈥檚 most prominent meeting was with Mohammed Raad, the head of Hezbollah鈥檚 parliamentary bloc. It was the first meeting between the two sides since 2016, when the Arab League labeled Hezbollah a terrorist group.
At the end of his visit, Zaki said he counted on the Lebanese leaders鈥� 鈥渨isdom and their complete awareness of the dangerous threats surrounding Lebanon politically and on the ground.鈥�
The Arab League, he said, was 鈥渇ully ready to help the country with anything that might contribute to overcoming this difficult phase safely鈥� and expressed the organization鈥檚 solidarity with Lebanon and its people.
He also emphasized the need to end the 19-month presidential vacuum.
Also on Friday, the EU expressed its concern over the 鈥渆scalating tensions in the region, especially along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel.鈥�
It called on all parties to 鈥渆xercise self-restraint and take part in the diplomatic efforts to reduce the escalation.鈥�
On Thursday, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its 鈥渄eep concern over the seriousness of the situation in Lebanon鈥� and called on all parties to exercise maximum self-restraint.
The ministry鈥檚 deputy spokesperson, Christophe Lemoine, said hostilities in southern Lebanon had been escalating dramatically.
France, which has called for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, 鈥渞emains fully committed to preventing any risk of escalation along the Blue Line and reaching a diplomatic solution,鈥� he said.
Some countries have warned their citizens against traveling to Lebanon due to the worsening security situation in the south of the country.
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised its citizens to 鈥渁void traveling to Lebanon during this period, except for urgent necessity.鈥�
The border area in southern Lebanon continues to face attacks from Israel, while Hezbollah has been targeting Israeli military sites.
In the town of Kfarkela, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a three-story commercial building comprising 10 shops. Mayor Hassan Sheet told Arab News that Israel had destroyed 76 residential buildings in the town, each containing more than 10 apartments.
鈥淥ne could say entire neighborhoods have been leveled to the ground. We are in a state of war,鈥� he said.
The current level of destruction was unparalleled, outstripping even the 2006 aggression, and people had abandoned the town to nearby villages, he said.
Only civil defense personnel remain in the town to extinguish fires and remove rubble.
Israeli artillery also shelled the outskirts of the coastal town of Naqoura, while warplanes attacked the town of Chihine.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it had targeted 鈥渆spionage equipment at the Birkat Risha site with appropriate weapons, achieving direct hits.鈥�
Sirens sounded in Kfar Blum and Amir in Upper Galilee. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Iron Dome intercepted a suspicious aerial target in the Galilee panhandle, triggering the alarm due to fear of falling debris.
Also on Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah for the first time received his new Sunni ally in operations in southern Lebanon 鈥� the secretary-general of the Islamic Group in Lebanon, Sheikh Mohammed Takkoush.
A statement issued by the two sides said: 鈥淭he latest political and security developments in Lebanon and Palestine were discussed and the importance of cooperation among resistance forces in the battle to support the valiant resistance in Gaza and its steadfast and honorable people was emphasized.鈥�