Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Arnoun. AFP
"With armed violence between Israel and Hezbollah boiling over, the consequences for civilians have already been terrible," Liz Throssell, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.
"We fear a large-scale ground invasion by Israel into Lebanon would only result in greater suffering," she warned.
Her comment came as Israeli troops were locked in fierce clashes inside Lebanon after launching a ground offensive early on Tuesday, after a week of deadly airstrikes.
Before the ground assault, Israel's escalating strikes on Lebanon reportedly killed more than 1,000 people in just two weeks, Throssell pointed out.
The violence has also forced up to a million people to flee their homes, according to Lebanese officials.
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