Beirut: Lebanon on Wednesday renewed its call for a ceasefire and submitted a new complaint to the UN Security Council regarding Israel’s attacks on the country.
The ongoing and escalating Israeli attacks against Lebanon have turned into “crimes” against humanity and civilization and a violation of all international charters and laws, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said at a cabinet meeting, according to a statement released by the Lebanese Council of Ministers.
“Our position and decision are to preserve Lebanon’s dignity and to ensure respect for national sovereignty by air, sea, land, and international resolutions; we will not tolerate any breach or attack,” he said.
Mikati emphasised the need to stop the war, fully implement UN Resolution 1701, and elect a new president so that the country could start with the reconstruction process, Xinhua news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants submitted a new complaint to the UN Security Council regarding Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
A statement released by the ministry said that in the new complaint, Lebanon condemned Israel’s continued aggression against it, the violation of its sovereignty, the ground incursion into its territory, the committing of more “massacres,” and the continuous and systematic destruction of border villages.
It said that Israel blew up villages with 400 tons of explosives, warning that this “systematic destruction” indicates the Israeli army’s efforts to transform the border strip into an uninhabited buffer zone.
Lebanon also condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks on densely populated residential buildings, places of worship, and religious shrines, as well as the cities of Tyre and Baalbek, which contain archaeological sites. It also criticized Israel’s continued targeting of the Lebanese army, ambulances, and civil defense centers and personnel, along with its use of internationally prohibited white phosphorus bombs.
Lebanon called on the UN Security Council to condemn Israel’s hostile actions, take firm measures to stop them, hold it fully responsible for the heavy losses in lives and property, demand its immediate and unconditional withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories, and implement UN Resolution 1701 fully and comprehensively to ensure the security and stability of the region.
(IANS)
