War in the Middle East: new threats, risk of escalation, international reactions… concern is growing

On September 25, 2024, Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to stop the escalation. Because for a week, Tsahal has been carrying out attacks in Lebanon, in order to win its war against its long-standing enemy: the Shiite group Hezbollah.

The Israeli army continued its campaign of intense aerial bombardments on Lebanon on Wednesday, appearing to open the way to a possible ground offensive.

A possible entry of the IDF into Lebanon

“We are attacking all day long, both to prepare the area for the possibility of your entry, but also to continue to strike Hezbollah,” General Herzi Halevi explained to soldiers of an armored unit during an exercise on the northern border, urging them to prepare for a possible "entry" in Lebanon.

Before specifying the objective in a video released by the army: "To bring back the inhabitants of the North safely. To do this, we prepare your entry there. You penetrate inside and destroy the enemy ".

The Iron Dome, still effective

Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had fired a missile at the Mossad headquarters in the suburbs of Tel Aviv “in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip […] and in defense of Lebanon and its people".

Israeli air defense systems intercepted a surface-to-surface missile as it crossed the border into Lebanon, and air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, but no casualties or damage were reported.

Mutual Accusations

The Lebanese Shiite movement, supported by Iran, blames the famous Israeli foreign intelligence service for the recent wave of assassinations of several of its leaders.

But also the responsibility for the double wave of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies which caused 39 dead and nearly 3,000 injured last week in Lebanon, a real humiliation for Hezbollah.

Continuing its campaign launched at the end of last week against Hezbollah leaders and hundreds of targets suspected of harboring the armed activities of the Shiite movement, Israel announced, for its part, that its air force had again intensively bombed southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley on Wednesday.

According to Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad, 51 people were killed and more than 220 injured in intensive Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday. The Israeli offensive has already left at least 569 dead, including 50 children, and 1,835 injured since Monday morning.

International concerns

It has also led to the exodus of half a million inhabitants, .
In Beirut, thousands of people who fled southern Lebanon are now crammed into schools and other shelters, fear in their bellies.

The worsening conflict is causing the concern of a large part of the international community, with the fear of a wider conflagration involving Iran, and a meeting of the United Nations Security Council was planned on the subject, Wednesday evening, at the request of France.

Emmanuel Macron called for "stop the escalation" at the UN Security Council. Washington, for its part, has undertaken "active discussions" on a truce between Israel and Hezbollah.