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to caution Security Council The International, during an emergency session held in New York on Friday, warned against the escalation following the explosions of communication devices in Lebanon and the Israeli raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut, calling on all parties to exercise restraint, while the Lebanese Foreign Minister warned the Security Council of a major explosion looming on the horizon.
At the request of Algeria, the only Arab member of the Security Council, the UN Security Council held a session during which it heard two briefings from high-level UN officials on recent developments in Lebanon and the region.
Earlier on Friday, Lebanon announced that 14 people were killed and 66 injured, including a large number of children and women, in an Israeli raid on Southern Suburb To Beirut, according to a preliminary tally from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Harbinger of a greater conflict
For her part, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary Anne DiCarlo, urged all countries with influence over Israel and the group to Hezbollah “Use that leverage now,” she said, to avoid escalating violence, warning that continued violence risks a more devastating conflict than what we are seeing now.
“We risk seeing a fire that would dwarf the devastation and suffering we have seen so far,” DiCarlo told the 15-nation council. “It is not too late to avoid such folly. There is still room for diplomacy. I strongly urge member states with influence over the actors to use it immediately.”
war crime
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, also strongly condemned the series of deadly bombings of communications devices in Lebanon, saying that “international law prohibits the ‘bombing’ of civilian devices.”
He considered that “committing acts of violence aimed at spreading terror among civilians is a war crime,” adding that “war has rules,” reiterating his call for an “independent, accurate and transparent” investigation.
“Targeting thousands of individuals simultaneously, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowing who is carrying the relevant equipment, their location and their environment at the time of the attack, violates international humanitarian law and international law where applicable,” Türk continued.
America is waiting for the facts to emerge
Deputy US Ambassador to the Security Council Robert Wood said, “It is imperative that, until the facts emerge about the recent events, in which I reiterate that the United States played no role, all parties refrain from any actions that would drag the region into a devastating war.”
He added that the United States expects all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and take all reasonable steps to minimize harm to civilians, especially in densely populated areas.
Lebanese warning
For his part, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, who participated in the meeting, stressed that resorting to blowing up thousands of remote communication devices “en masse and treacherously, without regard to who is carrying them or who is near them, is an unprecedented method of combat in its brutality and terror.”
He added that targeting thousands of people of different age groups in large or densely populated areas that include all Lebanese regions while they are going about their daily lives, in homes, streets, workplaces and shopping malls, is terrorism itself, a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights, and is undoubtedly classified as a war crime.
He said, “Either this council will force Israel to stop its aggression…or we will remain silent witnesses to the big explosion looming on the horizon today,” and he stressed that “this explosion will not exclude the East or the West, and will return us to the Dark Ages.”
Bou Habib called for “clear condemnation of the Israeli terrorist attacks.”
Algerian condemnation
For his part, Algeria's delegate, Amar Ben Jamaa, said that today's (Friday) raid on Beirut's southern suburbs confirms that “the Israeli occupation is not interested in peace” and that it “is pushing the region towards war and expanding its violations of Lebanese territory.”
He added that “the Zionist raids on Lebanon reflect the occupation's failure to abide by international laws, stressing the need to uphold the principles and charters of the United Nations.”
He added, “We condemn in the strongest terms the Israeli attacks in Lebanon,” stressing that “ending the Zionist occupation paves the way for lasting peace and stability in the region.”
Israeli threat
In turn, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, did not rule out in his speech to the UN Security Council that Israel might launch new attacks on Hezbollah, saying, “We will not allow Hezbollah to continue its provocations,” noting that Hezbollah has fired more than 8,000 rockets at Israel since the attacks on October 7, and that “dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands have been displaced.”
He threatened before the Security Council that “if Hezbollah does not withdraw from the border area and return to the north of the Litani River through diplomatic channels, Israel will use all means to defend its citizens,” and “will do what is necessary to return the Israelis to their homes in the north.”
However, Danon considered that “Israel does not seek to expand the conflict,” and said, addressing the Lebanese Foreign Minister, “We know that the real problem is not Lebanon. The real problem is Hezbollah,” and offered to provide assistance to reach some kind of settlement.
Iran and self-restraint
For his part, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, told the Security Council that Iran had “repeatedly warned of the grave consequences of Israel's malign activities” in the region.
He said, “Israel crossed the red lines, and Tehran will punish those who attacked its ambassador in Lebanon.” Iran's ambassador to Lebanon was injured in the explosions of communications devices in Lebanon.
He added that Iran has always “exercised maximum restraint for the sake of peace and security in the region, and for the sake of the so-called ceasefire talks (in Gaza).”
China, France, Russia
China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Fu Cong, called for an investigation to hold accountable those responsible for the explosions of communication devices in Lebanon, describing them as “barbaric and horrific” acts.
Commenting on the bombings in Lebanon, French delegate Nicolas de Rivière said, “The risk of an open war with disastrous consequences is increasing daily, and all parties must work to achieve calm.”
In turn, Russian delegate Vasily Nebenzia stressed that “a comprehensive war in the Middle East will not serve any party,” and considered the explosions of communication devices in Lebanon to be “a terrorist act that poses a threat to international peace and security, and has unpredictable consequences for the entire Middle East.”
