Erdogan says Israel’s attacks in Lebanon are a “clear sign” of its desire to expand the conflict

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September 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Israel’s latest attacks on Lebanon were “a clear sign” of the Israeli authorities’ “efforts” to spread conflict in the region, amid a surge in clashes between the Israeli army and the Shiite militia party Hezbollah.

“The recent attacks against Lebanon and the recent claims made by Israel are a clear example of efforts to spread war in the region,” he said during an event in New York, where he had travelled to participate in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

He stressed that the lack of “effective steps” by the international community to “end the oppression in Gaza or prevent the massacre committed by Israel” is affecting the situation in the Middle East, while insisting that the global system has begun to lose “its effectiveness and credibility” in the face of the “moral collapse” caused by inaction in the face of the conflict.

“The massacre that has been going on for 352 days in Gaza has demonstrated this once again,” Erdogan said, adding that Turkey has done everything possible to stop “as soon as possible” the Israeli policies of “occupation, invasion and slaughter,” according to the Turkish state news agency, Anatolia.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday accused Israel of trying to expand the conflict to Lebanon and stressed that Israeli operations “are increasingly provocative” in an attempt to ensure that the Shiite militia party Hezbollah and Iran “have no choice but to respond.” Just one day later, an Israeli bombing of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, left more than 50 dead, including several senior members of the group.

The bombing came days after a wave of coordinated explosions on communications equipment allegedly by Hezbollah, which left around 40 people dead and some 3,000 injured. Much of the international community, including the United Nations, has expressed concern over the incident due to the indiscriminate nature of the attack.

The escalation of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah – a group supported by Iran that has significant military and political clout in Lebanon – has raised fears of the possibility of an expansion of the conflict in the Middle East. In this context, the Israeli army recently presented its “operational plans” regarding Lebanon to the United States.