Israel hit Lebanon for the first time Sunday in response to what Israel said was an attempt by the Hezbollah movement, which has fought many times to send drones filled with explosives at Israeli positions on the other side of the border, an act the Hezbollah confirmed.
The office of the UN special coordinator for Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) “urge all parties to the ceasefire and refrain from further escalation,” it said as the latest events were described as “concerning.”.
Certainly, the rollback to the state of ceasefire with further adoption of the UN Security Council resolution 1701 is the only viable solution,’ the statement concluded.
This decision finalized a conflict that occurred in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah and demanded the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers as the only parties with military power in this region of Lebanon.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said at an emergency meeting of ministers on Sunday that he has been making ‘a series of contacts with Lebanon’s friends, ‘in an effort to prevent the escalation’. This is what is needed first of all to stop the Israeli aggression and to implement Resolution 1701,” his press release noted.
Mikati also stressed Lebanon’s ‘backing of international processes that may result in a halt to fighting in Gaza’, the statement said.
Hezbollah, backed by Iran, has fired rockets at Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group began hostilities by attacking Israel on October 7, precipitating the current Gaza war. There have been demands that the whole of UN Resolution 1701 needs to be enforced in a bid to stop the current fighting.
