Lebanese envoy warns Israeli ground incursion will lead to 'doomsday' regional war

Lebanon's Ambassador to the United Kingdom warned that an Israeli ground incursion would lead to a "doomsday" regional war.

Lebanese envoy Rami Mortada told The Times of Israel that Lebanon's armed forces will not stand by, like they have been so far, if Israel launches a major assault on the ground or from the air.

This comes asLebanon's armed forces have stood by as the militant groupHezbollah attacked Israel for nearly a year.

He said, "We are facing all the risks of an all-out regional conflict and that’s what we have been tirelessly trying to avoid."

Terming the militantgroup a “formidable fighting force”, he warned Israel to learn from "humiliating" defeats of the past.

Watch |Israel unleashes heavy strikes on Lebanon | Nasrallah vows retaliation against Israel

A war would “definitely [be] a doomsday for Lebanon but Lebanon will not hurt alone in this war," Mortada said, adding that this is whatrecent history has taught us.

"So all efforts should be focused on avoiding such an outcome," he stressed.

Israel hits 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon

On Friday (Sep 20), Israel carried out extensive air strikes on southern Lebanon and hit more than 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers and other "terrorist sites" including a weapons storage facility.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that the launchers were ready to be fired against Israel.

Israel on Thursday issued orders restricting movement for communities in the Golan Heights and parts of northern Israel. However, the orders were lifted on Friday morning.

The IDF added it would be carrying out "activities in the training areas" of northern Israel over the weekend and that "gunshots and explosions" might be heard in nearby settlements.

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(With inputs from agencies)