UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 25 :
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply concerned” over the exchanges of fire across the Blue Line — the Lebanon-Israel frontier, his spokesman said on Sunday. “The secretary-general is deeply concerned by the significant increase in the exchanges of fire across the Blue Line,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, said in a statement.
“These actions put both the Lebanese and Israeli populations at risk, as well as threatening regional security and stability,” the statement said.
Guterres called for immediate de-escalation and on the parties to “urgently and immediately” return to a cessation of hostilities and fully implement UN Security Council resolution 1701, it added.
In a joint statement posted on social media platform X on Sunday, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) urged Israel and Hezbollah to “refrain from further escalatory action.”
“In light of worrying developments across the Blue Line since the early morning, UNSCOL and UNIFIL call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action,” the statement said.
“A return to the cessation of hostilities, followed by the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, is the only sustainable way forward,” it added. Israeli and Hezbollah forces engaged in extensive exchanges of fire early Sunday morning along the Israel-Lebanon border, marking a significant escalation in their longstanding conflict.
Resolution 1701, issued by the UN Security Council in August 2006, calls for a cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the establishment of a demilitarized zone.
(Xinhua)
