UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has bemoaned attacks in Lebanon, saying, “The Gaza model must not be replicated” in the country.
He urged Hezbollah to stop launching attacks at Israel and called for an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which he said are hitting civilians the hardest.
Intensified Israeli attacks on Lebanon began in early March after Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israeli territory following the start of the US and Israel’s war on Iran on February 28.
In addition to air strikes, the Israeli military has pushed deeper into Lebanese territory as part of a ground invasion that Israel says aims to root out Hezbollah fighters.
Guterres’ remarks come amid plans by Israeli forces to mount a major ground invasion of its northern neighbour.
Israel announced that its military will take control of south Lebanese territory up to the Litani River, some 30km from the Israeli border.
Israel’s preparations to invade and take control of territory up to 30km (18.6 miles) inside Lebanon’s southern border come as the death toll in Lebanon from Israeli attacks has risen to at least 1,072 people, with almost 3,000 wounded, since the start of this month.
More than a million people have also been displaced by weeks of Israeli attacks in the south and east of the country, as well as the capital, Beirut, while warnings of a humanitarian crisis are being made at all levels, as Israel’s ground incursion looms.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz said the military “will control… the security zone up to the Litani,” adding that displaced Lebanese residents would not be permitted to return to their homes south of the river “until security is guaranteed for the residents of the north” of Israel.
Raising the spectre of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Katz said that Israel’s military was “following the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoon” in Lebanon, two cities that were effectively razed to the ground amid the war on the Palestinian enclave.
On Monday, Israel’s far-right Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich went even further in calling for Israel’s official annexation of southern Lebanon, saying that a “change of Israel’s borders” was necessary. “I say here definitively… in every room and in every discussion, too: The new Israeli border must be the Litani,” he said in an interview.
Israel’s preparations to invade southern Lebanon have included bombing bridges spanning the Litani River and bombing Lebanese homes close to the border that separates the two countries.
The annexation push has drawn condemnation from foreign leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been calling for negotiations to try to end the deadly violence. Meanwhile, the Lebanese government has outlawed Hezbollah military activity and said it wanted to engage in direct talks with Israel.
Also, the UN Secretary-General asserted that the war in the Middle East is “out of control,” warning of more human and economic pain the longer fighting goes on.
Guterres blasted the various factions of the ongoing Middle East conflict, saying the fighting “has broken past limits even leaders thought imaginable.”
“The world is staring down the barrel of a wider war, a rising tide of human suffering, and a deeper global economic shock. This has gone too far.”
Antonio Guterres
He specifically called on the US and Israel, whose joint strikes last month started the war against Iran, to end the fighting as “human suffering deepens, civilian casualties mount, and the global economic impact is increasingly devastating.” Guterres added, “My message to Iran is to stop attacking their neighbors.”
He also announced the appointment of a personal envoy to the lead the world body’s efforts on the conflict and the recent peace efforts that are underway.
Lebanon Urged Not To Agree To Negotiations With Israel amid Israeli Bombardment
Meanwhile, Hezbollah Chief, Naim Qassem also said Lebanon should not agree to negotiations with the Israeli government amid Israel’s continued bombardment of its northern neighbour.
“Negotiating with the Israeli enemy under fire amounts to imposing surrender and stripping Lebanon of its capabilities, especially since negotiations are fundamentally rejected with an enemy that occupies land and continues daily aggression.”
Naim Qassem
Qassem called for national unity as Israel continues its military assault on Lebanon, vowing to continue fighting “without limits” as Israeli aerial and ground attacks have killed more than 1,000 people across the country.
In a statement, Qassem said that the country faced two choices: “either surrender and give up our land … or inevitable confrontation and resistance” against Israel.
“We call for national unity against the Israeli-American enemy under one title at this stage: stopping the aggression to liberate the land and the people. All other issues can be discussed afterward.”
Naim Qassem
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