“The escalation in Lebanon is extremely dangerous and worrying,” said EU High Representative Josep Borrell, while warning that “we are on the brink of a total war.”

During a press conference he gave after the conclusion of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU, on the sidelines of the work of the UN General Assembly in New York, the head of the European diplomacy said that “we are on the brink of a total war” and warned that the escalation of the tension between Israel and Lebanon is “dangerous for the whole region”.

Z. Borel referred to the Israeli military attacks in Lebanon and the “collateral casualties” among civilians, which he condemned, underlining that “civilians in Lebanon are paying an unbearable and unacceptable price.”

He pointed out that so far in Lebanon, about 500 people have been killed and more than 4,400 people have been injured – including many children and women – and thousands of people are fleeing to the north. “We are seeing the worst-case scenario materialize,” Borrell said, as he repeated his call for a ceasefire, not only along the blue line dividing northern Israel from southern Lebanon, but also in Gaza.

Specifically, J. Borel once again called for the “full” implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006. The EU High Representative emphasized that the diplomatic route has so far not brought any results for a cessation of fire in the Gaza Strip and spoke of the need to take concrete pressure measures.

Finally, the head of European diplomacy condemned the closure of Al-Jazeera’s office in Ramallah, in the West Bank, by Israeli forces, while stressing that Israel has imposed the longest press blackout in history on the Gaza Strip.