The international situation in the Middle East is once again on the verge of a serious crisis that could lead to widen the conflict and create significant implications for global security.
"Of course there is risk. At the moment, the meeting of Israel's Security Council under the leadership of Netanyahu begins, at which a meeting will probably be given the green light for a ground operation in southern Lebanon.
This is what international security expert Slavcho Velkov commented before "Deniat ON AIR".
This development is a serious indicator of the growing risk of full-scale military conflict. According to Velkov, Israel has already redeployed significant reserves to the border with Lebanon and is forming additional military forces in the region.
"The third war in the Middle East practically started with the psychological and high-tech attack through the pager blasts, which the UN officially declared war crimes," Velkov told Bulgaria ON AIR.
One of the key questions put to Velkov was whether Lebanon would become the "New Gaza". According to him, this is very likely, as he emphasized the differences between "Hezbollah" and "Hamas".
While "Hamas" is a Palestinian Sunni organization, "Hezbollah" is a Shia military-political force with vast combat experience and serious military resources.
Velkov also pointed out that Lebanon has significant international support, including from countries such as China and France.
He also highlighted the speech of Turkish President Erdogan, who said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be stopped, comparing him to Hitler – a comment that, according to Velkov, speaks of serious intentions and risks of a full-scale war.
Velkov warned that a possible ground operation by Israel against Lebanon could lead to a large-scale crisis. According to him, this would mean the end of political efforts to stop the conflict.
"We are in an extremely serious case,", he declared.
Military actions in the region are already causing refugee flows that can affect not only the Middle East, but also Europe, including Bulgaria.