European Union (EU) foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that the escalating clashes between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon threaten to plunge the Middle East into all-out war.
"I can say we are almost in a full-fledged war," Borrell said ahead of a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, as quoted by the AFP news agency.
"We're seeing more military strikes, more damage, more collateral damage, more victims," he added.
"Everybody has to put all their capacity to stop this," Borrell said.
On Gaza, he said that "despite all the diplomatic capacity that we have deployed, nothing has been able to stop the war," accusing both sides of "procrastinating."
Borrell’s comments come after Israel launched air strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon. As of Monday night, the IAF struck approximately 1,600 Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
Officials in Lebanon said 492 people were killed in IDF strikes throughout the country in the last day and that 1,645 were injured.
On Sunday, Borrell said the EU is "extremely concerned" about an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and is calling for an "urgent" ceasefire.
Borrell has repeatedly criticized Israel in the past year over its conduct during the war in Gaza.
In January, Borrell asserted that Israel had "created" and "financed" Hamas. Later, he repeated that claim when pressed about it by reporters.
Borrell previously condemned Hamas for using "hospitals and civilians as human shields" in Gaza, but also urged Israel to show "maximum restraint" to protect civilians from the war it is waging against Hamas.
In February, the EU foreign affairs chief urged allies of Israel -- primarily the United States -- to stop sending it weapons as "too many people" are being killed in Gaza.