World countries warn of escalation on Lebanon-Israel border, urge for ‘temporary’ ceasefire
A group of world countries have issued a joint statement to warn against a possible ground invasion by Israeli forces into Lebanese territories calling for a temporary ceasefire.
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The statement, which was released at the conclusion of an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, followed talks led by France and the United States.
It said the “intolerable” situation between Israel and Lebanon “presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation.”
"We call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy," added the statement signed by Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK, the US and Qatar.
"It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety."
Neither Israel nor Lebanon has accepted the proposed truce, but US officials have voiced optimism based on their conversations with relevant parties.
The joint statement also called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli genocidal war has killed 41,495, mostly women and children, since October 7, 2023.
It was issued days after a major escalation in the fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement.
On Monday, the occupation’s military widened its bombing campaign on Lebanon and is mulling a ground invasion.
The death toll from Israeli aerial assaults across Lebanon since October has reached 1,247 with some 5,278 injured. In retaliation, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets into the occupied territories.
The deadly exchange of fire was sparked by the Israeli onslaught against Gaza, which has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Speaking at Wednesday’s Security Council meeting, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Israel “is spreading terror and fear among the Lebanese citizens in full view of the world.”
“Israel is violating our sovereignty by sending their warplanes and drones to our skies,” he noted. “Hundreds of civilians lost their life within a few days. Hospitals are overwhelmed, unable to accept more injured.”
Mikati further warned that his country is the “victim of an electronic cyber aggression and of an air and maritime aggression that can turn into a ground aggression and can become an all-out regional war.”
Last week, Israel detonated near-simultaneously thousands of booby-trapped telecommunication devices belonging to Hezbollah members in public places across Lebanon. It also assassinated several Hezbollah commanders is terrorist strikes.
