Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon represent a “serious escalation” in tensions in the region, according to former Conservative defence minister Tobias Ellwood.
He told GB News: “This is a serious escalation, that audacious, major attack, and now these massive airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, with the Israeli Defence Minister [Yoav] Gallant calling this a new phase in the war.
“It's clear a second front has now opened up in northern Israel, beyond the regular exchange of rocket fire that we see there, complicating, indeed ratcheting up tensions in the Middle East…we are heading towards another regional war.
“Israel has made it its war objective to return residents to the land near the Lebanese border, who have had to move because of that constant threat of rockets far from Hezbollah, and this suggests that Israel is likely to invade that area of southern Lebanon again to create potentially a buffer zone.
“Reports are coming through that IDF forces are indeed massing near the Lebanese border. All this takes us ever further away from securing a ceasefire in Gaza and looking towards longer term governance and security solutions for the Palestinians.
“So we have moved into a very, very dangerous period indeed, and what happens in the next 72 hours, indeed, the next week or so will be very critical indeed…
“Don't forget what sits behind Hezbollah, Hamas, and indeed the Houthis, is Iran, and they've also pledged to retaliate as well. It’s a very complicated situation in the Middle East.”
He added: “The consequences of regional war are huge, because it will drag other nations in and Hezbollah will prefer that, as I say, Iran as well.
“It would also likely see the closure of the Straits of Hormuz, a third of the world's oil passes through there, and trigger more attacks.
“The Houthis are another proxy influence they will, I think, re-initiate their attacks in the Red Sea, all with huge consequences for the global economy, including here in the UK.“
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