10/11/2024–|Last updated: 10/11/202404:20 AM (Mecca time)
US Vice President and Democratic Party candidate for the US presidential elections, Kamla Harris, said yesterday, Thursday, that there is a need for calm in the Middle East, while a UN official warned that the region is “on the verge of entering into an all-out war,” amid mounting anxiety in light of Israel’s launch of… The war on Gaza and Lebanon.
Harris added to reporters in Las Vegas that a ceasefire and calm agreement must be reached in Lebanon and Gaza, noting that the United States is working around the clock on this matter.
She stressed that there is a need to stop this war and calm the region.
The Lebanese position
In a related context, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib said that Lebanon adheres to Resolution 1701 and the American-French initiative for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
He added that the United Nations and the Security Council must redouble their efforts and put pressure on Israel to stop its aggression.
In New York, Lebanon’s representative to the United Nations, Hadi Hashem, called yesterday, Thursday, for an immediate ceasefire.
Hadi said, in a speech during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called by France, that the Israeli bombing and invasion will not provide security, safety and stability. He added, “Israel cannot return the displaced to their homes without an agreement.”
Hashem pointed out that Lebanon is fully committed to the French-American ceasefire initiative for 21 days, “during which we can settle the outstanding border issues,” and accused Israel of agreeing to the initiative “before it backed down from it and intensified its aggression.”
But Israel’s representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon, confirmed that the military operation will continue until Hezbollah’s control over southern Lebanon is dismantled and it is unable to attack the Israelis across the border.
Danon told the Security Council that Israeli soldiers “will weaken Hezbollah’s capabilities, eliminate their ability to launch attacks against Israelis, and reduce their armed network that extends across southern Lebanon.”
Danon stressed that there is only one path to peace in Israel and Lebanon, which must be without Hezbollah, and the 2006 Security Council resolution must be implemented, which completely ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah, and this includes the dismantling of all armed groups, including Hezbollah, and the spread of army control. Lebanese throughout southern Lebanon.
International warning
For her part, United Nations Political Affairs Officer Rosemary DiCarlo warned that the region was dangerously moving towards the brink of all-out war, and described the international community’s failure to stop the military escalation in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria as “devastating.”
DiCarlo said during the emergency session of the Security Council on Thursday that efforts must be made now to “reverse this cycle of violence, and bring Lebanon, Israel and the region back from the brink of disaster.”
In Lebanon, DiCarlo said Hezbollah fighters and other armed groups must stop firing rockets and missiles at Israel, and Israel must stop bombing Lebanon and withdraw its ground forces.
DiCarlo added, “The parties must take advantage of the diplomatic options before them, not the weapons at their side,” and continued, “We must give diplomacy a chance. Now.”
DiCarlo reaffirmed the recent warning of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that time is quickly running out, and stressed that this means a cessation of hostilities not only in Lebanon but in the entire region.
“The devastating conflict in Lebanon, coupled with intensified raids in Syria and raging violence in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, indicate that the region is dangerously on the brink of all-out war,” she added. “Our collective inability to stop the violence and stop the bloodshed is devastating,” she continued.