The prime minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati has urged the UN Security Council to pressure Israel to implement “an immediate ceasefire on all fronts,” according to Reuters.
He replied to Reuters when asked if a truce might be struck quickly: “We believe that yes.”
Prior to the UN Security Council meeting, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters that his nation backed Hezbollah and would not stand by while the situation in Lebanon worsened.
As the death toll in Lebanon mounted and hundreds of people left their homes, world leaders expressed alarm that the violence, which was developing quickly and was occurring concurrently with Israel’s assault in Gaza against Hamas fighters.
According to AFP, the United States and its allies pushed for a 21-day ceasefire in response to the significant escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, that has raised the possibility of an all-out confrontation in Lebanon.
Israel’s shelling of regions close to the historic city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon was dubbed “the most violent” in recent days by the country’s official news agency, the National News Agency of Lebanon.
In a joint statement, US President Joe Biden, his French colleague Emmanuel Macron, and other allies said that the situation in Lebanon had reached “intolerable” levels and that it “is in nobody’s interest, neither of the citizens of Israel nor of the children of Lebanon.”
