Israeli strikes killed 558 people in Lebanon on Monday, including 50 children and 94 women, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad told a press conference in Beirut on Tuesday, adding that at least 1,835 people were wounded, and 54 hospitals are treating patients.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was ‘gravely alarmed by the escalating situation along the Blue Line’, referring to the demarcation line dividing Lebanon from Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, as well as ‘the large number of civilian casualties’.
His spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said the UN chief also ‘expresses great concern for the safety of civilians, both in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel as well as the UN staff there in those areas’.
UNICEF head, Catherine Russell, highlighted the ‘dangerous escalation’ that threatens ‘countless’ children. ‘Alarming levels of psychological distress’ have also been reported among children, due to displacement, and from the barrage of shelling and air raids, she said, calling for an immediate de-escalation.
Iran, an ally of Lebanese group Hezbollah, that Israel says it is targeting, accused Israel of trying to bait it into a conflict that would have ‘irreversible consequences’.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said: ‘We want to live in peace, we don’t want war,’ adding, ‘It is Israel that seeks to create this all-out conflict.’
‘We know more than anyone else that if a larger war were to erupt in the Middle East, it will not benefit anyone throughout the world,’ he said.
President Pezeshkian added: ‘We cannot allow for Lebanon to become another Gaza at the hands of Israel.’
‘Hezbollah cannot stand alone against a country that is being defended and supported and supplied by Western countries – European countries, and the United States of America.’
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Israel’s strikes ‘insane’ and said they would carry ‘dangerous consequences’.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China firmly backs Lebanon in safeguarding its sovereignty and strongly condemned Israel’s attacks.
‘We pay close attention to developments in the region, especially the recent explosion of communications equipment in Lebanon, and firmly oppose indiscriminate attacks against civilians,’ Wang told his Lebanese counterpart, Abdallah Bou Habib, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Wang said China would stand on the ‘side of justice and on the side of Arab brothers, including Lebanon’, according to the statement.
In Russia, the Kremlin said the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah risks destabilising the region. ‘It is, of course, an event that is potentially very dangerous,’ risking expansion of the zone of the conflict and ‘complete destabilisation of the region’, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi urged for a global response to de-escalate the conflict, accusing Israel of ‘aggression.’
‘We stress the urgent need for the Security Council to take immediate action to curb Israeli aggression’.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the UNSC to intervene and denounced any ‘violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty’.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s aggression ‘in the strongest terms’: ‘Continued escalation is primarily due to the absence of any deterrent to Israel’s actions, its continued repeated violations of international law, and its continued impunity,’ it said in a statement.
‘This reality exacerbates crises, puts the region on the brink of the abyss, and exposes it to more tensions that will have a profound impact regionally and internationally,’ it added.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was following the developments in Lebanon with ‘great concern’ and urged ‘all parties to exercise the utmost restraint’.
It emphasised the ‘importance of respecting Lebanon’s sovereignty’, while calling on the international community to play a role in de-escalating the region.
The Gulf country expressed ‘deep concern’, and reiterated its stance against ‘violence, escalation, uncalculated actions and reactions that disregard laws governing state relations and sovereignty’, state media reported.
The US, which has sent Israel billions of dollars in weapons since the Gaza war broke out, while also pushing a strained Israel-Hezbollah mediation drive, still held out hope that the two parties could step back from the brink of war.
‘My team is in constant contact with their counterparts, and we’re working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return home safely,’ said President Joe Biden, who met UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the White House.
While the Pentagon said the US is sending additional troops to the Middle East in response to developments in Lebanon, spokesman Patrick Ryder did not specify the strength of additional forces being deployed or their specific task.
The US has about 40,000 soldiers in the region.
‘In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region. But for operational security reasons, I’m not going to comment on or provide specifics,’ Ryder said.
The G7 called for ‘a stop to the current destructive cycle’ that could catapult the ‘entire Middle East into a broader regional conflict with unimaginable consequences’.
‘Actions and counter-reactions risk magnifying this dangerous spiral of violence,’ said a statement by the G7, made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US.
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was ‘deeply alarmed’ by the ongoing air raids in Lebanon and Israel.
‘Further escalation risks even more devastating consequences. I repeat my call for an immediate ceasefire on both sides,’ he posted on social media.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned ‘we are almost in a full-fledged war’ and called for full efforts at de-escalation during the UN General Assembly in New York.
Pointing to the increasing number of civilian casualties and the intensity of Israel’s strikes, he said; ‘If this is not a war situation, I don’t know what you would call it.’
‘Here in New York is the moment to do that. Everybody has to put all their capacity to stop this path to war,’ he added.
‘We have not prevented the spillover, and the more dispersed the war becomes, the more the situation becomes more complicated to be solved,’ Greece Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said.
‘Lebanon could easily be a zone of tremendous hostility, and this is something that we cannot deal with. It’s a clear minefield.’
France said strikes on both sides of the border should ‘immediately end’ and called for an emergency UNSC meeting to address the conflict.
‘I’m thinking of the Lebanese people as Israeli strikes have just killed hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children,’ said Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. ‘These strikes conducted on both sides of the Blue Line, and in the region more broadly, must immediately end.’
Belgium Deputy Prime Minister Petra de Sutter said she was ‘shocked’ by the casualty toll from Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. ‘492 lives lost in Lebanon. Plus 1,600 injured. Tens of 1000s were ordered to flee their homes. In 1 day,’ she said.
‘This horrendous attack by Israel won’t lead to any solution for the region. Only diplomacy will bring citizens home safely. Only a ceasefire will end the suffering.’
- The Iranian president denounced the UN’s ‘inaction’ against Israel, describing it as ‘senseless and incomprehensible’.
‘In my meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations, I said the UN inaction against the crimes of the occupying regime is senseless and incomprehensible,’ President Masoud Pezeshkian said.
‘I expressed my deep concern about the spread of the conflict in the entire Middle East.’