• A diplomatic push is underway to prevent a regional war from erupting in the Middle East, with the US and its allies calling for a 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border as the UN chief urged all sides to “step back from the brink.”• The calls for calm come after Israel’s military said it was preparing for a possible ground incursion into Lebanon.
It also said it was calling up two reserve brigades “for operational missions in the northern sector.”• As the conflict escalates, Israel and Hezbollah are trading waves of strikes, forcing tens of thousands in Lebanon to flee their homes.
More than 90,000 people are newly displaced in Lebanon, the UN said.
• While Israel and Hezbollah have refrained from declaring that they are at war with each other, their ramped-up conflict goals may make that moot.
Persons:
•
Organizations:
UN
Locations:
Israel, Lebanon