UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a “serious escalation” along the Lebanon-Israel frontier and urged all parties to pursue a diplomatic path, Al Jazeera reports.

“Since March, we have witnessed a serious escalation — as Israel intensified its operations in Lebanese territory and Hezbollah fired deeper into Israel,” he says in a post on X.

Guterres has called on all sides to seek a political resolution.

“All parties must work towards a diplomatic settlement that fully respects the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon.”

He also underlines his position on arms control within Lebanon, stating “I fully support a monopoly on weapons by the Lebanese government.”