UN Chief Warns Lebanon Must Not Become Another Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlights the urgency of avoiding an all-out war "at all costs."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated, on Wednesday, that the world cannot allow Lebanon to become another Gaza, stressing that "an all-out war must be avoided at all costs."

“The people of Lebanon, as well as the people of Israel and the people of the world, cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” Guterres remarked during a UN Security Council meeting focused on the situation in the Middle East.

He called for an immediate halt to what he dubbed "hostilities" and urged all parties to take concrete steps toward implementing UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701.

Resolution 1701 was reached in the wake of the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon. It calls for the full cessation of hostilities and the deployment of the Lebanese Army to Southern Lebanon, as well as the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Blue Line and the Litani River.

“Civilians must be protected. Civilian infrastructure must not be targeted,” he added.

Guterres also highlighted the necessity for the safety and security of all UN personnel, emphasizing that international law must be upheld by all sides. “Let us say in one clear voice: stop the killing and destruction, tone down the rhetoric and threats, and step back from the brink. An all-out war must be avoided at all costs. It would surely be an all-out catastrophe,” he warned.

Guterres revealed that "escalating violence has displaced nearly 200,000 people in Lebanon and over 60,000 in northern Israel since October of last year."

“The communities of northern Israel and southern Lebanon must be able to return to their homes and live in safety and security without fear,” he stated.

He stressed the importance of respecting Lebanese sovereignty and enabling the Lebanese state to maintain full control over weapons within its borders, reaffirming UN support for strengthening the Lebanese Armed Forces to stabilize the region. “All of this must stop,” Guterres reiterated, highlighting the urgent need for peace and stability in the area.

US, European, Arab states urge prompt temporary ceasefire in Lebanon

Western powers, Japan, and key Gulf Arab powers urged on Wednesday for a 21-day "temporary ceasefire" in Lebanon, a couple of days after "Israel" launched a massive aggression on South Lebanon and the Bekaa region in the east and amid Israeli threats of a potential ground invasion.

Since the aggression on Lebanon began on October 8, the overall death toll has reached 1,247, with 5,278 injured, many of whom are civilians, including women and children. More than half of these casualties have occurred within the past three days as the occupation intensifies its operations.

At least 70 citizens were killed and 400 were injured in the expanding and intense Israeli aggression targeting several regions across the Lebanese South and Bekaa, according to the daily death toll as reported by the Health Ministry in Lebanon on Wednesday.

"It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety," said the joint statement issued by the United States, Australia, Canada, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

"Diplomacy however cannot succeed amid an escalation of this conflict. Thus we call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement."

The joint statement underscored that the situation in Lebanon has become "intolerable" and "is in nobody's interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon."

In a separate statement issued on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron called for "broad endorsement and for the immediate support of the Governments of Israel and Lebanon," warning that the war and the recent escalation "threatens a much broader conflict, and harm to civilians."

But UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate ceasefire and warned that "hell is breaking loose."

According to the UN, the latest attacks have sparked the displacement of around 90,000 people from their homes in Lebanon.

"Israel" stated that it welcomed diplomatic efforts regarding Lebanon but did not commit to a ceasefire, pledging to continue its objective of weakening Hezbollah.

"We will use all means at our disposal, in accordance with international law, to achieve our aims," the occupation entity's envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told reporters.

The urgent ceasefire call came hours after the Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told troops to prepare for a possible ground invasion into Lebanon.

"We are attacking all day, both to prepare the ground for the possibility of your entry, but also to continue striking Hezbollah," he told a tank brigade, according to a statement.

This followed an unprecedented operation on Wednesday by Hezbollah, which said it targeted Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv's suburbs with a Qader 1 ballistic missile after strikes launched Monday by "Israel" on southern Lebanon and Bekaa killed at least 558 people.

The temporary ceasefire would pave the way for negotiations and a diplomatic solution to the ongoing aggression, particularly amid threats of a potential Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Axios reported.

The Biden administration had reportedly been preparing a new diplomatic initiative aimed at securing a temporary halt to the aggression on Lebanon and resuming negotiations on a Gaza captive and ceasefire agreement, according to several US officials, an Israeli official, and other sources with direct knowledge of the discussions, all of whom were cited in an Axios report on Wednesday.