An Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon could trigger doomsday scenes and all out war, a senior diplomat has said as the IDF could come face-to-face with troops trained by Britain.
The Middle Eastern country’s London ambassador Rami Mortada has said their troops would not ‘stand idly by and watch’ if Israel invaded or were to ‘mount a heavy aerial attack’, The Times reports.
Thursday night, Israeli jets pummeled Lebanon with more than 100 strikes – despite calls for restraint amid fears of a spiraling conflict within the Middle East following a week of pager and walkie-talkie blasts which has left the country in disarray.
The bombardment marked the nation’s most intense hit on Lebanon for nearly a year while world leaders gathered in Paris to urgently call for de-escalation.
Mr Mortada warned that Hezbollah has become a ‘formidable fighting force’ – saying that a multi-frontal war in the region could radicalise a whole new generation in Europe.
He told the broadsheet: ‘We are facing all the risks of an all-out regional conflict and that’s what we have been tirelessly trying to avoid.
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Israel’s bombardment of targets across Lebanon came hours after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged UK citizens to leave the country.
‘My message to British nationals in Lebanon is leave while commercial options remain. Tensions are high and the situation could deteriorate rapidly,’ he wrote on X.
‘Let’s hope that we don’t get there because this is a doomsday scenario for everyone. It’s definitely a doomsday for Lebanon but Lebanon will not hurt alone in this war. That’s what recent history taught us. So all efforts should be focused on avoiding such an outcome.’
The diplomat continued: ‘There are many dangerous aspects for the Middle East that could get as far as Europe and beyond.’
