Lebanon is "on the brink of all-out war," but there's still time to step back, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday. Addressing reporters at UN headquarters in New York, Guterres said: "The Middle East is a powder keg with many parties holding the match."
"I have warned for months of the risk of the conflict spreading," said the UN chief, adding that the situation in the occupied West Bank is "boiling over" and attacks in Lebanon are threatening the entire region.
He said exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and others in Lebanon and the Israel Defense Forces have increased in the last few days along the Blue Line totally ignoring UNSC resolutions 1701 and 1559, reported Xinhua news agency.
Large-scale Israeli strikes deep into Lebanon, including Beirut, have killed more than 2,000 people over the last year -- and 1,500 in just the past two weeks alone, Guterres said. Hezbollah and others have killed at least 49 people over the last year south of the Blue Line with attacks. The Lebanese government reported that more than 1 million people have been displaced in Lebanon, and 300,000 people crossed into Syria, while more than 60,000 were left displaced from northern Israel.
"We stand today at the edge of war in Lebanon, with already devastating consequences. There is still time to stop," he said.
"The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected," he emphasized.
He praised the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, called UNIFIL, declaring that it "continues to carry out their mandates to the extent possible" and urged all parties to protect its safety and security.
The secretary-general said: "It has been a year of crises -- humanitarian crisis, political crisis, diplomatic crisis, and a moral crisis." "The nightmare in Gaza is now entering an atrocious, abominable second year," he added.
Over the last year, following Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, "Gaza has become ground zero to a level of human suffering that's just hard to fathom," he said. More than 41,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed, mostly women and children, and thousands are missing.
"Nearly the entire population has been displaced -- and no part of Gaza has been spared," Guterres said. "No place is safe in Gaza and no one is safe."
He underscored that international law is crystal clear: "Civilians everywhere must be respected and protected, and their essential needs must be met, including through humanitarian assistance, and he strongly condemned all violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.".
The UN chief reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, immediate lifesaving aid to all those who desperately need it, and for all those calls that made irreversible action for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine happen.
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