According to information from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, Israel carried out airstrikes in Lebanon yesterday, in which they were killed 492 people and more than 1,600 were injured, making it the country's deadliest day since clashes between Israel and the Hezbollah military group. became fierce, writes the American "Washington Post".
In recent days, Israel has increasingly shifted the focus of its military campaign from the group "Hamas" in the Gaza Strip to the conflict with the "Hezbollah" group, which launches rocket attacks on northern Israel almost every day, the publication states.
The newspaper quoted David Wood, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group with a focus on Lebanon, as saying the willingness of both sides to inflict civilian casualties in recent days represented a "very worrying change.
It is against this background that the General Debates of the 79th Annual Session of the UN General Assembly begin today in New York, writes the "Guardian".
The summit is expected to be fraught with controversy as key Israeli allies, including the US, have so far expressed only muted criticism of the new Israeli campaign, raising questions about what diplomatic pressure is being brought to bear on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a time when his government claims it is escalating the conflict to put pressure on "Hezbollah" to start negotiations, the publication notes.
Speculation also remains whether Netanyahu will attend the summit in person, the newspaper said, noting that the Israeli prime minister is Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations and is known for his criticism of the institution, which he accuses of being a platform for anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.
At the summit, US President Joe Biden will also deliver his last speech to the United Nations in a last attempt before the end of his political career to settle one of the most painful conflicts in the world, writes the "Guardian".
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Biden will speak at a time of deep uncertainty about America's future role in the world, including in the war in Ukraine, in the escalating conflicts in the Middle East and against the background of growing economic competition with China, writes the "New York Times" .
World leaders are gathering in New York at a time when multiple global crises are confronting American politics, the publication commented.
Biden has vowed to continue pushing for a negotiated ceasefire that could end the fighting in Gaza, and his advisers are working feverishly to prevent the war from expanding in the Middle East, the New York Times reported. York Times".
The US president's unwavering support for Israel, however, leaves him isolated among world leaders, the newspaper said, noting that his diplomatic efforts have failed to bring about an end to hostilities.
Despite the escalation of violence, the group "Hezbollah" for now, it refrains and does not deliberately target Israeli settlements, nor does it use its most advanced weapons, writes the British publication "Telegraph".
The most obvious answer to the question of why "Hezbollah" has currently adopted a position of relative restraint is that Iran is holding it back, the newspaper commented. Tehran considers "Hezbollah" for its insurance policy in the event that Israel attacks its nuclear program, and the more missiles the group spends now, the more it erodes Iran's deterrent power in the future, the publication said.
The leadership of "Hezbollah" however, there are also reasons not to escalate the conflict too much, notes "Telegraph". The group is far better equipped than in 2006, when Israel failed to defeat its forces in a bloody confrontation in southern Lebanon, the paper said.
Although it now has 10 times the number of missiles and a much more powerful arsenal, "Hezbollah" prefers to engage Israel in a longer, low-intensity conflict that would weaken its resolve, rather than expend all its firepower in a massive confrontation that it may not win, the British newspaper concluded.