War in the Middle East: The Dangerous Game Between Israel and Hezbollah
Middle East conflict escalation poses a significant danger of spreading into a larger war, according to a senior United Nations authority.
Things are heating up in the Middle East as Israel and Hezbollah continue their deadly clashes, putting the region at risk of a full-blown war.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, is sounding the alarm. He's particularly worried about Hezbollah's attacks on Israel along the UN demarcated "Blue Line" in southern Lebanon and Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah weapons sites and militants.
Lacroix, who was heading to the EU Defence Ministers Council in Brussels, spoke to our website about the urgent need for de-escalation. "The risk of escalation remains very, very serious. We're talking about regional escalation because this situation in Gaza, and several other situations in the Middle East, are all very interconnected."
Since Israel launched its invasion of the Gaza Strip following a deadly Hamas attack on 7 October, violence has flared and tensions have escalated in multiple conflict zones. Iranian-backed militias in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria have stepped up their attacks, claiming they are responding to Israeli operations in Palestinian territories.
"We have seen episodes of retaliation that contribute to maintaining a high risk of a regional escalation beyond what we are already seeing in Gaza," said Lacroix. "So, obviously, the ongoing efforts at peace talks in Gaza are extremely important."
One of the most tense moments came on 1 April this year, when Israeli air strikes killed Iranian officials who were meeting in a diplomatic building in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Two weeks later, Iran launched its first direct attack on Israeli territory in the form of a barrage of 300 missiles and drones - over 90% of which were repelled by Israeli air defence systems, many of them supplied by the US.
There have been other incidents outside Israel and Gaza involving civilian casualties. But the situation escalated when Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas political official, was killed in Tehran on 31 July, where he was due to attend the inauguration of Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. The Israeli government neither confirmed nor denied its responsibility for the explosion that killed Haniyeh in his hotel room, but the operation is widely thought to have been carried out by the Israeli secret services.
The following day, the US reinforced its military deployment in the Middle East, as Iran threatened to retaliate against Israel. Almost a month later, the threat still hasn't materialized, but the UN remains concerned.
"Iran is obviously an important actor in the region, which is involved in different ways in the discussions that are taking place to try to achieve peace," said the UN Under-Secretary-General. "After what happened in Tehran, there is speculation in terms of a possible reaction from Iran, but I'm not going to contribute to that."
A Peacekeeping Mission in Gaza?
Several members of the UN Security Council have discussed the possibility of creating a future peacekeeping mission in Gaza. Lacroix, however, believes it's too early to talk about such a move. Any peacekeeping force would require the agreement of all parties involved, as well as the unanimous vote of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. He also emphasized the need for acceptance by locals for any third-party presence.
Israel has agreed to three temporary pauses in the fighting in Gaza, starting next week, to allow for a polio vaccination campaign for around 640,000 children. However, negotiations for a long-term ceasefire agreement remain stalled. The US and Qatar are currently negotiating such an agreement with Egypt.
Lacroix indicated that the vaccination pauses represent an "important humanitarian effort in the very short term," but he stressed that only a total cessation of hostilities will reduce the risk of the conflict spreading in the region - which is why the European Union must keep up the diplomatic pressure.
"The EU and several of its member states contribute politically and with troops to peacekeeping operations in the Middle East," Lacroix pointed out. "When it comes to peace missions, member states should provide more political support, in addition to sending soldiers. Peace missions do not have military objectives, but political ones."
Sources
- Arab-led reconstruction plan aimed at Gaza strip (Arab News, 2021)
- Modeling a formal Arab-led coalition in Middle East conflict mediation (Atlantic Council, 2025)
- UN warns of growing violence in Gaza and West Bank (Reuters, 2025)
- Hezbollah threatens retaliation against Israel (Al Jazeera, 2025)
- Isabel, as a peace advocate, has been vocal about the need for increased accessibility of political news and general updates on war-and-conflicts, such as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, on platforms like LinkedIn.
- In light of the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, has emphasized the importance of de-escalation to prevent a deal between Israel and Hezbollah from being derailed by war-and-conflicts.
- While discussing the potential for a peacekeeping mission in Gaza, Lacroix underscored the necessity of local acceptance and the unanimous vote of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, a reminder that politics is a complex web of international relations.
- As tensions continue to rise between Israel and Hezbollah, the UN and regional powers, like the US and Qatar, are actively negotiating for a political resolution to end the violence, signaling that war-and-conflicts might not be the only option in the Middle East.
