UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed on Monday that he was concerned about the risk of a new conflict between the Israeli armed forces and Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
According to Guterres, there have been recent indications from both the Israeli leadership and Hezbollah that efforts are being made to avert that danger, but "sometimes a spark is enough to provoke a conflict of this kind."
Hezbollah said last week that it would hit Israeli oil facilities if necessary, amid a dispute between the Israeli and Lebanese governments revolving around offshore energy fields.
U.S. diplomats have recently taken mediation initiatives following escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon. The thermometer is also rising because of the wall erected by the Israeli side on the border between the two countries and Hezbollah's growing arsenal.
"I'm deeply concerned about the danger of escalation that is difficult to predict across the region," Guterres told reporters in Lisbon, referring to Israel 's reaction to the presence of various paramilitary groups on Syrian soil near its border.
"It would be the worst nightmare if a direct conflict broke out between Israel and Hezbollah (…). "The catastrophe in Lebanon would be huge, so there is a lot of concern about this situation."
The powerful Shiite movement is part of the Lebanese coalition government. The Israeli government considers Hezbollah the biggest threat to Israeli border security.
Hezbollah was formed in the 1980s as a resistance movement against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. The relationship between the Shiite movement and Israel has always been openly hostile, but there has been no general confrontation between them since 2006, when they were embroiled in a month-long conflict.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army will use all the means at its disposal to deal with any potential "Israeli attack", whatever the cost, the leader said on Monday.
"I reaffirm our unequivocal rejection of any violation by the Israeli enemy of Lebanon's national sovereignty and its sacred and inviolable right to use all its financial resources," said General Joseph Aoun, a Lebanese was posted by staff on Twitter on Monday.
The Lebanese army "will not spare any available method to oppose any Israeli attack, whatever it may cost," he added.