In a meeting organized by Pakistan at the headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Lebanon and several other countries asked the international community to increase the pressure on Israel to end its military operations in the Middle East.
The meeting, which was convened to review the humanitarian impact of the conflict in Gaza a year later, saw representatives of various countries express serious concerns about Israeli tactics and the catastrophic consequences they have had on the civilian population.
According to Reuters reports, the UN envoy to Lebanon, Salim Baddoura, accused Israel of using the same “bad strategy” in Lebanon as in Gaza, leading to more destruction and loss of life.
He calmly asked the question: “While these atrocities continue, what is the true and ultimate goal of all this?” The Palestinian ambassador spoke of the “indescribable” suffering suffered by the people of Gaza in the past year, with health authorities who have reported more than 42,000 deaths since the start of the Israeli campaign. Most of this densely populated region has been turned into ruins.
In Lebanon, where Israel has intensified its operations against the Hezbollah group, the situation is equally grave. More than 1,000 people have died and more than a million have been forced from their homes in the past month alone, according to Lebanese officials.
While Israel maintains that its attacks in Gaza and Lebanon were military targets and that efforts are being made to minimize civilian casualties, Hezbollah and Hamas have denied accusations of using civilians as human shields.
The continued military action against Hezbollah, a heavily armed group, is seen by Israel as necessary to protect its northern border, which has been the target of rocket attacks in support of Hamas. Thousands of Israeli citizens were evacuated from the region after these attacks.
During the meeting, representatives from other countries, including South Africa, Turkey and Spain, echoed similar sentiments, calling for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian aid. South Africa’s envoy, Mxolisi Nkosi, described the situation in Gaza as an “apocalyptic humanitarian disaster”, while Turkey’s ambassador, Burak Akçapar, called for a total arms embargo against Israel , which calls into question the clarity of Israel’s objectives.
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