US warns Israel not to interfere in Lebanon affairs, fighting breaks out in Gaza Rafa

Gaza Strip: Fierce fighting broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Wednesday (June 26), witnesses said, raising concerns about a wider regional war that could draw in Lebanon’s Hamas ally Hezbollah.

However, Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip appeared to ease, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the “intense phase” of the war was coming to an end and Israel’s defense minister visited Washington for crisis talks.

As the Gaza war enters its ninth month, Israel’s biggest ally, the United States, has warned Israel of the possibility of a large-scale conflict between Gaza and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as cross-border fighting escalates.

“Another war between Israel and Hezbollah could easily turn into a regional war, with dire consequences for the Middle East,” said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. To the visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Yoav Gallant.

Austin added: “Diplomacy is by far the best way to prevent further escalation.”

Senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have said they are open to resolving border tensions diplomatically, but Galant said Israel should prepare for “all possible scenarios.”

The Israeli military said last week that plans for an offensive on Lebanon had been “approved and confirmed,” prompting a new round of threats from Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned in Beirut on Tuesday that any “miscalculation” could lead to all-out war and called on all sides to exercise “extreme restraint.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Western countries of supporting Israel in “targeting Lebanon” and trying to “spread the war to the region.”

In Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, witnesses reported overnight clashes and the Israeli military said its air force attacked a rocket launching site.

Mohammed Mujayil, an official with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Civil Defence, told AFP that rescuers had recovered “the remains of 15 martyrs” from various areas of the city of Rafah in the past few hours.