UN Security Council debates Middle East crisis, as US leads efforts for a ceasefire solution
The UN’s highest body has heard the direst warning yet about the escalating situation in Lebanon.
Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was not mincing his words: “Madam President, excellencies. Hell is breaking loose in Lebanon. As I told the General Assembly yesterday, we should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink.”
Mr Guterres said Monday saw Lebanon’s biggest loss of life in a single day in a generation.
Both Israel and Hezbollah were blamed for the worsening situation.
Britain’s foreign secretary was among many speakers calling for a diplomatic solution.
“We are on the precipice,” he told the meeting. “The rockets must stop now. The airstrikes must stop now. Talks must start now.”
Follow latest: US calls for 21-day ceasefire
But outside the chamber there was an ominous warning from Iran’s representative that his country may become more involved in this war if it goes on.
“Let me be frank,” Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister told reporters. “The region is on the brink of a full scale catastrophe. If unchecked, the world will face catastrophic consequences unlike anything before.
“Iran firmly upholds its inherent right to defend its vital interests.”
Read more: Tensions high as Lebanon faces frightening prospect of possible ground assault
British mum trying to flee Lebanon with her children ‘torn’ as husband has to stay behind
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to reporters at the UN Pic: AP
Israel’s ambassador Danny Danon fought back in the meeting, singling out Iran for blame in this crisis.
“Every missile fired by Hezbollah, every drone launched by Iranian proxies, every act of terror on foreign soil, traces back to one source: the Islamic regime of Iran.
“It is the spider at the centre of this web of violence, and until that web is dismantled, there can be no peace in the region.”
The crisis has overshadowed events at the UN General Assembly. The fear here is of an escalation engulfing the region in an even bigger conflict.
The US is leading efforts to push for a ceasefire. Its diplomats have told Sky News they are speaking directly with Israel and indirectly bringing pressure to bear on Iran and Hezbollah through third countries.
What is not clear is if there is the time to contain events that are spiralling quickly out of control.
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
IDF reservists call for end to war in Gaza
Read more:
Israeli pilots’ letter reveals deepening rift
Seriously ill children from Gaza allowed into UK
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway