Turkey accused Israel of trying to expand the Gaza war and carry it into Lebanon with the "alarming" wave of deadly explosions that swept through Hezbollah strongholds.
"The escalation in the region is alarming," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on state-run TRT television. "We see Israel stepping up its attacks on Lebanon step by step."
According to the Lebanese health ministry, 32 people, including two children, have been killed and more than 3,000 others wounded in two days of blasts.
Israel has not commented on the unprecedented operation in which walkie-talkies and pagers of Hezbollah fighters have been blowing themselves up in supermarkets, at funerals and in the streets.
But Defense Minister Yoav Galant, speaking of Israel's border with Lebanon, said, "The center of gravity is shifting north."
Turkey blamed Israel for the blasts.
"We have reached a point where these operations carried out by Israel are becoming more and more provocative, and in return Iran, Hezbollah and elements close to them have no choice but to respond," Fidan said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati to offer his condolences over the wave of deadly bombings.
Erdogan has been a fierce critic of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. | BGNES
