NEW YORK (Reuters) – The escalation between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah is close to outright war, the European Union's foreign policy chief said on Monday.
“This situation is extremely dangerous and worrying. I can say that we are close to a full-fledged war,” Josep Borrell told reporters.
“If this is not a war situation, I don't know what you would call it,” he said, referring to the growing number of civilian casualties and the intensity of military strikes.
Borrell said efforts were being made to ease tensions, but Europe's worst fears about a possible spillover of the crisis are coming true.
He said civilians are paying a high price and that all diplomatic efforts are needed to avoid an all-out war.
“This is the moment to do it here in New York. Everyone must use all their capabilities to stop this path to war,” he said.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Howard Goller)
