United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed “grave concern” over the risk of the Gaza conflict expanding to the West Bank, potentially leading to uncontrollable consequences in Lebanon and dragging Yemen into a regional war.
This concern arises particularly due to the ongoing attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi group on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
In a statement on the eve of the New Year, Guterres issued his strongest warning yet of a devastating regional war.
He stated that with the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, and other Palestinian factions in Gaza, there is a “grave concern” about the conflict, which “could have devastating consequences for the entire region.” He warned of an “ongoing risk of a broader regional conflict.”
Guterres highlighted the escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, including intensified operations by Israeli security forces, rising death tolls, settler violence, and Palestinian attacks on Israelis as “extremely worrying.”
He also noted that the daily exchange of fire across the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon “could lead to a broader escalation.”
He expressed “increasing concern” about the indirect effects of ongoing attacks by armed groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which have escalated in recent days. Guterres reiterated his call for an “immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
Guterres’ statements coincided with a United Nations Security Council session requested by the United Arab Emirates.
The session included a briefing by the UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific, Khaled Khiari, who described the situation as “worrying” due to the ongoing intense Israeli ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas and other Palestinian factions in most areas of Gaza.
Echoing Guterres’ call for an “immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons” in Gaza, Khiari pointed out that “the risk of this conflict spreading regionally with potentially devastating consequences for the entire region remains high.”
He also mentioned civilian casualties on both sides of the Blue Line and the rising death toll among fighters, warning that strikes deep into Lebanese and Israeli territories raise “the specter of an uncontrollable conflict with potentially devastating consequences for Lebanon.”
Khiari emphasized the importance of immediate de-escalation and a return to a cessation of hostilities under the framework of Resolution 1701, reached after the 2006 war, given the increasing risk of miscalculation and further escalation as the conflict in Gaza continues.