France has urged Israel and the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah to avoid destabilising the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon – warning that broadening the Israel-Hamas war would plunge Lebanon "into an abyss". However Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said an escalation of hostilities was "a realistic possibility".
In a speech, Nasrallah said that one of the biggest mistakes Israel is making now – in its war against Hamas in Gaza – is pursuing goals that it cannot achieve.