UN Security Council voices ‘sturdy concern’ for UN peacekeepers after Israeli assaults | EUROtoday

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The UN Security Council expressed “strong concern” Monday as Israel has fired on and wounded U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon throughout intensified combating, reiterating its assist for his or her position in supporting safety within the area.

It’s the primary assertion by the UN’s strongest physique since Israel’s assaults on the positions of the peacekeeping power referred to as UNIFIL started final week, drawing worldwide condemnation.

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Lacroix instructed reporters that Secretary-General António Guterres confirmed Monday that peacekeepers will stay in all their positions at the same time as Israel has urged the peacekeepers to maneuver 5 kilometers (3 miles) north throughout its floor invasion in Lebanon.

Israel has been escalating its marketing campaign towards Hezbollah in Lebanon throughout a UN-drawn boundary between the 2 nations. The sides have been clashing because the Iranian-backed militant group began firing rockets a yr in the past in solidarity with its ally Hamas in Gaza. Hamas’ lethal assaults in southern Israel on 7 October, 2023, launched the conflict.

The Security Council assertion, issued after emergency closed consultations on Lebanon, didn’t identify both Israel, Lebanon or Hezbollah. Read by Swiss UN Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl, the council’s present president, it urges all events “to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and UN premises.”

The 15-member Security Council has been deeply divided over the conflict in Gaza, with the United States defending its ally Israel as assist for the Palestinians has grown amongst members and casualties have escalated. The Biden administration has develop into extra important of civilian deaths in addition to the current assaults on UNIFIL.

US deputy ambassador Robert Wood instructed reporters that “it’s good that the council can speak with one voice on what’s on the minds of all people around the world right now — and it’s the situation in Lebanon.”

The council’s assertion sends a message to the Lebanese individuals “that the council cares, that the council is watching this issue and that the council today spoke with one voice,” Wood mentioned.

Council members additionally expressed “deep concern” at civilian casualties and struggling, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the rising variety of internally displaced individuals.

More than 1,400 individuals in Lebanon, together with civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million displaced previously month. Around 60 Israelis have been killed in Hezbollah strikes previously yr. Israel says it desires to drive the militant group away from the border so some 60,000 displaced Israelis can return to their houses.

The Security Council assertion known as on all events to abide by worldwide humanitarian legislation, which requires the safety of civilians.

Council members additionally known as for the complete implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict “and recognized the need for further practical measures to achieve that outcome.”

That decision requires the Lebanese military to deploy all through the south and for all armed teams, together with Hezbollah, to be disarmed — neither of which has occurred previously 18 years.

Lacroix, the undersecretary-general for peace operations, instructed reporters after his closed briefing to the Security Council that 5 UNIFIL peacekeepers have been injured in current days and that the UN has protested to Israel.

Israel has indicated “investigations will be carried out regarding some of these incidents … and we will see what comes out of this,” he mentioned.

Israeli Army spokesman Lt Colonel Nadav Shoshani asserted Sunday that Israel has tried to take care of fixed contact with UNIFIL and that any occasion of U.N. forces being harmed can be investigated at “the highest level.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has known as for UNIFIL to heed Israel’s warnings to evacuate, accusing them of “providing a human shield” to Hezbollah.

“We regret the injury to the UNIFIL soldiers, and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone,” he mentioned Sunday in a video addressed to the UN secretary-general, who has been banned from coming into Israel.

Lacroix on Monday confused that every one events have a accountability to make sure the security and safety of the peacekeepers.

He additionally mentioned it’s essential that the peacekeepers keep of their positions “because we all hope there will be a return to the negotiation table, and that there will be finally a real effort to full implementation of resolution 1701.”