Israel Interested in Escalation, Not Lebanon’s Hezbollah: Lavrov
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Wednesday that Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Lebanese government do not desire a "full-blown war" with Israel, though some factions within the Israeli regime are seeking it.
Speaking at a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday, Lavrov noted that “There’s a suspicion that some circles in Israel are trying to achieve just that,” citing American and European analysts.
He stressed that “escalation, as the practical developments show, is something which Israel is interested in.”
Since early October, Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging deadly fire following the regime's launch of a genocidal war on Gaza after a surprise operation by the Palestinian resistance groups.
Hezbollah has vowed to continue its retaliatory attacks as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its Gaza onslaught.
“Hezbollah has been very much restrained in its actions,” Lavrov said, adding that its leader, Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, has “delivered a number of public statements which reaffirmed that position.”
However, “the sentiment is that there’s an attempt to provoke them, and to provoke them into a full-blown engagement,” the top Russian diplomat warned.
According to a tally by the Associated Press, Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon since October have killed more than 450 people, while Hezbollah's retaliatory attacks have claimed 34 lives.
Israeli media report that Hezbollah's retaliatory strikes have displaced around 60,000 Israeli settlers from northern parts of the occupied lands.
Lavrov also slammed Israel’s war on Gaza, labeling it as “collective punishment” against the 2.3 million Palestinians in the besieged territory.
“When it comes to collective punishment in violation of international humanitarian law, one cannot fight against one form of violation through other violations. It's the same principle here,” he said.
Since October 7, the Tel Aviv regime has killed about 38,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza.
The United States has supplied Israel with over 10,000 tons of military equipment and used its veto power against all UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Despite the ongoing bloodletting campaign, the occupying regime has so far fallen short of achieving its two main goals: defeating and eliminating Hamas, and releasing Israeli captives.
