Israel and Hezbollah urged to avoid full-scale war as UN fears catastrophe

• Israel and Hezbollah urged to avoid full-scale war as UN fears catastrophe
• 150 rockets, missiles, and other projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel overnight
• Israel conducted airstrikes on southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah’s rocket launchers

Israel and Hezbollah urged to avoid full-scale war as UN fears catastrophe

Israel and Hezbollah both escalated their threats on Sunday, vowing to intensify cross-border attacks despite calls from the international community to avoid full-scale war.

The Israeli military reported that roughly 150 rockets, missiles, and other projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel overnight on Saturday and into Sunday. Some of the rockets reached farther than previous strikes, prompting thousands of Israelis to seek shelter and causing damage to homes near Haifa.

In response, Israel conducted airstrikes on southern Lebanon, targeting what it claimed were Hezbollah’s rocket launchers, reportedly destroying thousands of them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would take “whatever action is necessary” to secure its northern border and allow residents to return safely to their homes. He added that Hezbollah had suffered unexpected blows.

The latest cross-border exchanges have sparked renewed international concern.

UN chief Antonio Guterres told CNN he feared “the possibility of transforming Lebanon [into] another Gaza”.

The UN special coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, posted on X that the Middle East was on the brink of “imminent catastrophe”.

“It cannot be overstated enough: there is NO military solution that will make either side safer,” she posted on Sunday.