Delegates at the UN General Assembly, including the foreign ministers from Indonesia, Denmark and Trinidad and Tobago, have called for an end to hostilities in the Middle East.
The Danish foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said, ‘Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced all over the region, and there’s a very, very real risk of an all out regional war, which would affect not only the people in the region, but all of us. This must end, and this must end now.”
A view shared by the foreign minister from Trinidad and Tobago, who said he was ‘deeply troubled by the escalation of conflict and tensions in the Middle East.’ He added, ‘We remain distressed by the ongoing war on Gaza and by the chilling flashpoints of expansion that are being deployed on a daily basis.’
Their remarks come amid a significant escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah over the past week, with Israeli strikes in Lebanon killing hundreds.
A recent airstrike on Beirut killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Iran’s Supreme leader has vowed retaliation for his death.
