Nearly a full-fledged war in Lebanon - EU's Borrell
· RTE.ieThe escalation between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah is almost a full-fledged war, the European Union's foreign policy chief said.
"This situation is extremely dangerous and worrying. I can say that we are almost in a full-fledged war," Josep Borrell told reporters.
"If this is not a war situation, I don't know what you would call it," he said, citing the increasing number of civilian casualties and the intensity of military strikes.
Mr Borrell said efforts to reduce tensions were ongoing, but Europe's worst fears about a spillover were becoming a reality.
He said civilians were paying a high price and all diplomatic efforts were needed to prevent a full-blown war.
"Here in New York is the moment to do that. Everybody has to put all their capacity to stop this path to war," he said.
Meanwhile, France requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss Lebanon after Israel launched a major cross-border attack following nearly a year of clashes with Hezbollah.
"I have requested that an emergency meeting of the Security Council be held on Lebanon this week,"
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the United Nations General Assembly, calling on all sides to "avoid a regional conflagration that would be devastating for everyone," especially civilians.
US seeks to prevent Israel-Hezbollah escalation
A senior US State Department official said the US does not support the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah across the border, adding that Washington was going to discuss "concrete ideas" with allies and partners to prevent the war from broadening.
Israeli officials have said the recent uptick in airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon was designed to force the group to agree to a diplomatic solution.
But the US State Department official, briefing reporters in New York on condition of anonymity, pushed back on this Israeli position, saying President Joe Biden's administration was focused on "reducing tensions ... and breaking the cycle of strike-counterstrike."
"I can't recall, at least in recent memory, a period in which an escalation or intensification led to a fundamental de-escalation and led to profound stabilisation of the situation," the official said.
Asked if that is a disagreement with the Israeli stance, the US official nodded.
The spiralling conflict over Israel's northern border with Lebanon is a focus for Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week.
Washington had "concrete ideas" to prevent a broader war and would seek an "off ramp" to tensions, the official said.
"It's an evolution of those discussions on which we're trying to base some practical, concrete steps that will have good chances of reducing tensions and actually getting some traction," the official said.
Asked if Washington believes Israel is preparing for a ground invasion of Lebanon, the US official declined to answer definitively.
"We obviously do not believe that a ground invasion of Lebanon is going to contribute to reducing tensions in the region," he said.