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UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Warn Against 'Devastating' Escalation

A UNIFIL patrol is seen near the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. (EPA)
A UNIFIL patrol is seen near the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. (EPA)
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UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Warn Against 'Devastating' Escalation

A UNIFIL patrol is seen near the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. (EPA)
A UNIFIL patrol is seen near the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. (EPA)

UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon warned Wednesday that increased hostilities could prove "devastating", a day after a presumed Israeli strike killed Hamas's deputy leader in a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut.

"We are deeply concerned at any potential for escalation that could have devastating consequences for people on both sides," said UNIFIL deputy spokeswoman Kandice Ardiel.

"We continue to implore all parties cease their fire, and any interlocutors with influence to urge restraint."

The strike on Tuesday killed Saleh al-Aruri, deputy head of Hamas, in Beirut's southern suburbs, two Lebanese security officials told AFP, blaming Israel.

Hamas, at war with Israel in Gaza for almost three months, confirmed Aruri's death, which Lebanese state media said came in an Israeli drone strike that also killed six others.

Hamas said Aruri would be buried on Thursday in Beirut's Shatila Palestinian refugee camp.

The attack marked an escalation in the nearly three-month-old war.

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Iran Rejects Accusations it Interfered in Syria

Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Iran Rejects Accusations it Interfered in Syria

Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Iran's foreign ministry on Thursday expressed “concern” over “the spread of chaos and violence” in Syria and rejected accusations that Tehran interfered in Syria, after the new Syrian foreign minister told Tehran not to spread chaos in his country.
"We reject the baseless accusations by some media ... against Iran over interfering in Syria's internal affairs," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted as saying by state media.
"It is necessary to prevent the spread of insecurity and violence ... and ensure the security of Syrian citizens," he added.

Syria's newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, said on Tuesday that Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and Syria's sovereignty and security.

"We warn them against spreading chaos in Syria and we hold them accountable for the repercussions of the latest remarks," he said.

On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to "stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity.”

Khamenei forecast "that a strong and honorable group will also emerge in Syria because today Syrian youth have nothing to lose,” calling the country unsafe.

The former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohsen Rezaee, said that the Syrian people “will not remain silent in the face of foreign occupation and aggression” or “the tyranny of an internal group.”

He added: "They will revive the resistance in Syria in a new form in less than a year."

"They will fail the malicious and deceptive plan led by America, the Zionist entity, and the regional countries that have been manipulated,” he added.