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IRELAND IS AMONG 15 European nations to issue a joint statement saying it is “appalled” at the violence in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s health ministry today said Israeli attacks have killed 1,318 people in the country since war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah on 2 March.
Those killed included 91 women, 125 children and 53 health workers, with 3,935 other people wounded.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the war by launching attacks on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel has responded with broad strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive.
The UN has expressed concern that south Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold, could become another occupied territory in the Middle East.
“Given the trajectory that some Israeli ministers have described and given what we have seen in plain sight in Gaza, how will you protect civilians?” UN aid chief Tom Fletcher told a Security Council meeting yesterday.
Foreign Affairs Ministers from 15 European countries, including Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden, today issued a joint statement to say it is “appalled by the dramatic situation and renewed escalation of violence in Lebanon”.
In addition to over 1,300 people being killed, over 1.2 million people are internally displaced within Lebanon, some 25% of the overall population.
The joint statement condemned the decision of Hezbollah to attack Israel in support of Iran and called on Hezbollah to “immediately cease all hostile actions against Israel and disarm”.
The statement also called on Israel to immediately cease its “unjustified and unacceptable” attacks against civilians, healthcare personnel, aid workers, journalists, and civilian infrastructure.
It also called on Israel to stop its military operations in Lebanon.
“We urge Israel to fully respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and call on all parties, both Hezbollah and Israel, to halt military action.”
Meanwhile, the Lebanese government on 2 March announced the “immediate ban” of Hezbollah’s military activities and demanded the party surrender its weapons, something it has repeatedly rejected.
The joint statement said it supports and commends the Lebanese government’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah and end its military activities and called for the “international community to keep supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces”.
Elsewhere, the joint statement condemned the recent attacks on UNIFIL, “which provoked unacceptable casualties among the peacekeepers, notably the killing of Indonesian peacekeepers”.
A UN security source told AFP that Israeli fire had killed one peacekeeper on Sunday, while a mine may have caused Monday’s deadly blast.
Israel’s military said it was investigating the incidents to “determine whether they resulted from Hezbollah activity or from IDF activity”.
The joint statement called for all parties to abide by the November 2024 ceasefire agreement and “fully implement the UN Security Council Resolution 1701”.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, stipulates that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in south Lebanon.
The joint statement also encouraged Israel to “accept the call of the Lebanese authorities to hold direct negotiations”.
“Efforts to support stabilization in Lebanon are instrumental to lasting peace and security in the Middle East,” said the joint statement.
“De-escalation is urgently needed. Diplomacy must prevail.”
It also called on the “international community to mobilize to further help Lebanon and its population”.
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