AA / Hamilton, Canada / Merve Aydogan
The UN on Monday expressed concern over the worsening situation in Lebanon amid escalating Israeli attacks, adding that it opposes Israel’s intention to launch a ground invasion on Lebanon.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian consequences of the ongoing events in Lebanon,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at a press conference.
Highlighting Guterres’ call for all parties to exercise restraint and defuse tensions, Dujarric also stressed the need to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Adopted on August 11, 2006, this resolution calls for a complete cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel and the creation of a demilitarized zone between the Blue Line (de facto border between Lebanon and Israel) and the Litani River, allowing only the Lebanese army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to hold weapons and military equipment in this area.
Dujarric said the Secretary-General and his team were in contact with actors on the ground and continued to seek diplomatic solutions.
He said UN personnel along the Blue Line were continuing their activities, but the conflict had restricted their operations.
Affirming that civilians are the most affected by the escalation of tensions, Dujarric announced that “a new appeal will be launched tomorrow, Tuesday, to mobilize additional resources for Lebanon to meet the growing needs of around one million people affected by the growing crisis”, notably the mass exodus from South Lebanon, along the border with Israel.
Asked whether the UN would call on Israel to refrain from any ground incursions, Dujarric said: “The Secretary-General has made a call to do so and will continue to do so. We don’t want to see any kind of invasion on the ground.”
Israel has been carrying out massive airstrikes against what it says are Hezbollah targets across Lebanon since September 23, killing more than 960 people and injuring more than 2,770 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. .
Several Hezbollah leaders, including its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, were killed during these attacks.
On Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Tel Aviv would only agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon if Hezbollah was forced away from the border to the north of the Litani River and disarmed.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in a cross-border war since the start of the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has left nearly 41,600 people dead, mainly women and children, since October 7 last year. .
The international community has warned that Israeli attacks on Lebanon could cause the Gaza conflict to escalate into a larger regional war.
*Translated from English by Mourad Belhaj
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