The G7 foreign ministers are calling for calm vibes in the Middle East 🤝✨ Amid rising tensions and some seriously worrying developments, they're urging everyone involved to chill and avoid fueling the fire even more.
\"We call on the parties concerned to desist from any initiative that could hinder the path of dialogue and moderation and encourage a new escalation,\" said the G7 Italian presidency in a statement. Basically, they're saying: let's talk it out instead of ramping up the conflict.
After a video chat to discuss what's going down, the ministers expressed \"strong concern about recent events that threaten to lead to a regionalization of the crisis, starting with Lebanon,\" according to Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
So, what's the deal? Things escalated big time after the assassinations of Hezbollah's senior military commander Fouad Shokor in Beirut and Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Yeah, major players were taken out 😬
Just days before that, a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 children and teens 💔 Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah are pointing fingers at Israel and have threatened to hit back. Israel admitted to taking out Shokor, saying it was payback for the Golan strike, but they’re keeping quiet about Haniyeh.
Since then, things have been heating up on the Israel-Lebanon border with more fire and rockets flying. Meanwhile, diplomats are hustling to cool things down and prevent a bigger crisis.
\"We reaffirmed the priority of a successful conclusion of negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages, and confirmed our commitment to intensify humanitarian aid to the populations of the Strip,\" the G7 presidency stressed. In other words, they're pushing hard for peace and help for those caught in the middle.
On Sunday, Italy's foreign minister urged all Italians in Lebanon to bounce ASAP due to \"the worsening situation\" and advised everyone to avoid traveling there. Italy's joining a list of countries, like France, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the U.K., and Jordan, telling their peeps to stay safe.
Let's hope cooler heads prevail and peace finds its way back to the region ✌️🌍
Reference(s):
G7 FMs urges efforts to avoid escalation of Middle East conflict
cgtn.com
