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UK minister urges de-escalation after Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire

Israel launched a series of air strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, while the militant group staged its own drone attacks.

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A major war in the Middle East is “a real danger”, a Cabinet minister has warned following an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah overnight.

Early on Sunday, the Israeli military launched what it described as “pre-emptive” strikes against the militant group in southern Lebanon, saying it had detected plans to attack Israel.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the UK is “very concerned” by the escalation.

“Even as this unfolds, the UK Government and the international community would urge all parties not to escalate further and to avoid a major regional war. That is the real danger facing the area,” he said.

“We hope this doesn’t turn out to be that and we hope that afterwards we can de-escalate the situation.”

Cabinet minister Pat McFadden  holding a folder and walking in front of other men
Cabinet minister Pat McFadden has warned a major war in the Middle East is ‘a real danger’, following an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah overnight (James Manning/PA)

Since coming to office last month, new Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey have visited the region, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned Iran’s president in a phone call this month not to attack Israel.

Iran supports both Hamas and Hezbollah and has previously expressed a desire to make Israel “regret” an air strike on Tehran that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

APTOPIX Israel Mideast Tensions
An Israeli Apache helicopter flies over Israel (Ariel Schalit/AP)

Reports from the region suggest there have been no further strikes following the initial exchange of fire early on Sunday, but the situation remains tense.

British Airways and Wizz Air have cancelled flights to Tel Aviv in response to the strikes and Virgin Atlantic has delayed the resumption of flights to Israel following a “security and safety” assessment.

British Airways flights are not set to resume until Thursday at the earliest, while a Virgin Atlantic spokesman said the airline will not resume daily flights until at least September 25.

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