Türkiye and the European Union countries rejected Israeli threats of a ground operation in Lebanon, and called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and to avoid further escalation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that the United Nations General Assembly should recommend the use of force in line with a 1950 resolution if the Security Council cannot stop Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

"The UN General Assembly must quickly use the authority to recommend the use of force, as it did in the 1950 Uniting for Peace resolution, if the Security Council cannot show the necessary will," Erdogan added after a government meeting in Ankara.

He also urged Islamic countries to take economic, diplomatic and political steps against Israel to pressure it to accept a ceasefire, adding that Israel's attacks would target them as well if they were not stopped soon.

For his part, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Monday that it was necessary to avoid any further military interventions in Lebanon.

"Any further military intervention would severely aggravate the situation and must be avoided," Borrell told reporters in Mexico after an emergency teleconference of EU foreign ministers.

French and British calls to stop the escalation

In response to the escalation of Israeli threats to invade Lebanon, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot today urged Israel not to launch any ground invasion of Lebanon.

"I urge Israel not to launch any ground incursion and to cease fire. I call on Hezbollah to do the same and not to take any action that might destabilize the region," Barrow told reporters during a visit to Lebanon.

"We are ready to help implement Resolution 1701 (on the cessation of hostilities in southern Lebanon) and we will enhance our support for the Lebanese army," he added, stressing that the previous ceasefire proposal for Lebanon "is still on the table."

In the same context, Britain said on Monday that all parties must seek to de-escalate and cease fire after Israel launched air strikes on targets in Lebanon, stressing the need for all parties to the conflict to step back from the brink.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain's support for Israel's right to self-defence was "unwavering" but stability and security in the region could only be restored through a ceasefire.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli army had previously announced its readiness for a wider war in Lebanon, and said that a ground operation was an option, indicating that Hezbollah could still fire on Israel.

Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said that difficult days await Israel, just a few days after the assassination of the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in an Israeli raid in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which also resulted in the deaths of prominent leaders in the party and a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.