EU’s top diplomat calls for ceasefire as civilians paying ‘price’

Hezbollah fired over 100 rockets early on Sunday across northern Israel as Tel Aviv returned fire and launched hundreds of strikes on Lebanon.

Meanwhile, at the funeral of three killed militants in Beirut, attended by hundreds of supporters, Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Kassem declared an “open-ended battle” was underway between the Islamic militant group and Israel.

Kassem says Hezbollah, which has lost several senior military leaders in recent months, has “returned stronger, and the frontline will witness this.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clapped back on social media platform X, stating the country will “take whatever action is necessary to restore security” in the region.

The tit-for-tat strikes appears to be pushing the Middle East closer toward all-out war, with top European Union figures increasingly weighing in on the tension.

The EU’s Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell said on Sunday that the bloc is “extremely concerned” about growing “cross border violence” between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah.

“Civilians on both sides are paying an enormous price. An immediate ceasefire is needed,” Borrell’s statement reads published on X said.

The EU’s top diplomat said pursuing ceasefires in the Blue Line — a demarcation line separating Lebanon from Israel — and the Gaza Strip among Israel and Hamas would be pursued at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting is scheduled from 22-23 September in New York.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo recently told the Security Council ambassadors that the fighting across the Blue Line “have expanded in scope and intensity” and “poses a grave threat” to the stability of the region.

The UK’s top diplomat, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, joined a chorus of international voices also calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

He wrote on X that there was a “need” for a “negotiated solution” to restore stability and security across the Blue Line, as tensions remain at boiling point. “The situation could deteriorate rapidly,” he said, while urging British nationals in Lebanon to leave “commercial options remain”.

Meanwhile, the US government continues to push for a diplomatic end to simmering tensions between Tel Aviv and Beirut.

The Biden administration’s national security spokesperson said Washington has been “involved in extensive and quite assertive diplomacy” in the region.

“We still believe that there can be time and space for a diplomatic solution here,” he said.