UN envoy on Syria warns of ‘wider escalation’ of Israel-Hamas war

The Israel-Hamas conflict has spilled into Syria, which is now “at its most dangerous situation for a long time,” fueled by growing instability and violence and a lack of progress toward a political solution for its 12-year conflict, the UN special envoy for the country says.

Geir Pedersen tells the UN Security Council that he is “sounding an alarm” that the Syrian people now face “a terrifying prospect of a potential wider escalation.” He points to airstrikes attributed to Israel hitting Aleppo and Damascus airports several times and US retaliation against what it says are multiple attacks on its forces by groups the US “claims are backed by Iran, including on Syrian territory.”

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield accuses “terrorist groups,” some backed by Syria and Iran, of threatening to expand the Gaza conflict “by using Syrian territory to plot and launch attacks against Israel.”

“We call on the regime to curb the activities of Iran-backed militias in Syria, stop the flow of foreign arms and fighters through its territory, and cease escalatory actions in the Golan Heights,” she says, warning that the United States will continue to respond to attacks on US personnel and facilities in Syria “or against US interests.”