At an emergency meeting of the United Nations (UN) Security Council to deal with the situation in Lebanon, the deputy US ambassador, Robert Wood, said that “although Israel has the right to protect its citizens” from the Shiite movement Hezbollah, “said the country must harm civilians, especially in the densely populated areas of Beirut. ”
“We are deeply concerned about reports of hundreds of Lebanese civilians who have been killed in recent days, including children, health care workers and an American citizen. said.
The Israeli attacks were in the center of Beirut, which, according to a Lebanese security source, also targeted the leader of Hezbollah, which killed 22 people this evening and wounded 117, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Israeli army did not issue advance evacuation orders for these areas before the attack.
In addition, at least two ‘blue helmets’ were injured in an Israeli attack on a watch tower at the headquarters of the UN mission in southern Lebanon (Unifil), in one of at least three attacks that it was given to Israel against United Nations troops a few years ago. 24 hours.
In this regard, the US diplomat – Israel’s largest international ally – admitted that he was “deeply concerned” about the injuries suffered by the UN peacekeepers and asked “all parties, including Israel”, to respect the security of Unifil workers and facilities.
Robert Wood also called on the conflicting parties to contact the UN authorities to ensure that Unifil can “operate freely and in accordance with the mandate”.
At the same meeting, minutes before the US ambassador took the floor, the head of the UN Department of Peace Operations, Jean Pierre Lacroix, reminded the Israeli Government of its obligation to respect the status of Unifil and guarantee its security.
“We strongly complain about these incidents to the Israeli authorities,” Lacroix said, adding that not every armed incident “pays much attention to the protection of UN buildings or personnel under international law.” .”
Regarding the impact of this undeclared war in Lebanon, the UN Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, pointed out that a quarter of the territory of Lebanon has been placed under evacuation orders at this time and that this affected more than a hundred places, “with the Israeli army sometimes giving people just two hours to leave their homes, often in the middle of the night.”
Those orders led to the evacuation of 600,000 people – 250,000 of them in one week – while Israeli attacks have already left 2,000 dead, most of them civilians and many of them children, according to Lebanese Ministry of Health,
One of the diplomats who showed the most anger at today’s meeting was the Algerian ambassador, Amar Bendjama, who requested that the Security Council impose sanctions on Israel.
“A few hours ago, an Israeli attack hit a residential building in Beirut, killing an innocent teenager and injuring dozens of people. When will this Council take responsibility for maintaining international peace and security? When will this Council impose sanctions on the Israeli authorities for the atrocities and rape they are doing?” Bendjama asked.
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah began a year ago, when the Lebanese Islamic group began launching missiles into northern Israel as a sign of support for the Palestinian cause.
The Israeli Army launched an offensive against Hezbollah in mid-September, with bombings in southern Lebanon and the capital, Beirut, in which many of the Shiite militia leadership were killed, including its director, Hasan Nasrallah.
Just over a week ago, Israel also launched a ground offensive into southern Lebanon.
2024-10-11 00:09:00
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