By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – Security Council on Friday held an emergency session on Lebanon after Israeli strikes on Beirut and in the south on Friday which have left at least a dozen dead.
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in New York warned the region now stands “on the brink of a catastrophe.
He noted rising cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces and two days of deadly wireless device explosions targeted members of the militant group. We’ll have full live coverage as the fear of a widening Middle East war grows.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the council members that he was “appalled by the breadth and impact” of the attacks on pagers and walkie-talkies across Lebanon which killed at least 37.
“These attacks represent a new development in warfare, where communication tools become weapons,” he said, noting that unexploded devices had been made dismantled in universities and hospitals.
“This cannot be the new normal,” the rights chief added, noting that “war has rules for each and any party to this and any other armed conflict.”
He said that targeting thousands of people without knowing who is in the vicinity violates international human rights law and, as applicable, international humanitarian law.
Security Council members called to end hostilities between the armed group Hezbollah and Israel.
It created a buffer zone free of “any armed personnel” both Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops between the UN-drawn Blue Line in southern Lebanon and the Litani River (12 miles from the Israeli border) and called for both Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive solution to the crisis.
Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary A. DiCarlo said “alarming developments” in Lebanon and the region have come after nearly one year of hostilities “on an almost daily basis” across the Blue Line, a buffer zone separating Israel and Lebanon.
“These exchanges have been a repeated breach of the cessation of hostilities and in violation of [Security Council] resolution 1701,” she said.
She added that the violence has to date displaced over 100,000 people from southern Lebanon and 60,000 from northern Israel.
Slovenian envoy to the UN and the president of the UNSC Samuel Žboga gaveled open the meeting on the situation in Lewbanon.
WHO representative in Lebanon Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar said that the international community must come to the aid of Lebanon in the face of back-to-back crises and spillover from the war in Gaza, as reports emerged of more Israeli airstrikes in the south.
Hundreds of pagers across the country simultaneously detonated on Tuesday, while walkie-talkies and solar panels blew up the following day.
The attacks targeted the Hezbollah militant group, killing civilians, including children.
WHO said that some 1,500 people are still in hospital from this week’s extraordinary attack on mobile communication devices, reportedly targeting the Hezbollah armed group.
Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar said that almost 3,000 injured people were rushed to hospitals after the pager and walkie-talkie explosions. Medical teams struggled to handle the massive influx of patients in the country where the “tension is increasing every day.”
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon stressed that his country did not seek the war, stated that on 8 October, when Israeli citizens in the south were being “slaughtered” by Hamas, Hezbollah “unleased hundreds of rockets” in the north against civilians.
“This was not provoked,” he said. “It was a calculated assault to show support for Hamas.”
He said that since that day, over 8,000 rockets have “rained down” on Israel, killed 46 people and injured 294.
Mr. Dsnon added that more than 60,000 have been displaced.
“Everyday, Hezbollah rockets deliberately target our civilians, attempting to destroy homes and force entire communities to flee in fear,” he said.
He noted that it has been nearly a year that they were forced to flee, and they continue to wait for the day it will be safe for them to return.
“Israel will not allow this to continue. Our objective is very clear we will restore security to our northern borders and will bring our people home,” he said, noting that the goal of returning its displaced citizens has been formally included in the objectives of this war.
“We will do whatever it takes to achieve this.”
Syrian ambassador to the UN spoke on behalf of the Arab Group, said the devastating recent attacks were deployed without any regard to international law or to humanity.
“What is new is using modern technology to commit collective murder of civilians…transforming civilian objects into ticking time bombs,” he said.
The Arab Group demands the Council condemns this cyberterrorism and Israel’s aggressions against the Palestinian people in Gaza and attacks on other countries, including Syria.
“We demand the Security Council meet its responsibilities” to, among other things, end the Israeli occupation of Arab lands, he said.
He said in his national capacity that Syria condemns the aggression and ongoing terrorism against the Lebanese people. Reaffirming his delegation’s solidarity with Lebanon, he called on the international community to take action.
Lebanon’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib said if the Council cannot condemn these actions then the credibility of international law is at risk.
“Israel, through this terrorist aggression, has violated the basic principles of international humanitarian law….and indiscriminately targeted civilians,” he said.
He condemned the recent attacks, he cautioned that such technology could be used to target planes and other civilian objects. Israel’s attacks on mobile devices in Lebanon have left many dead and wounded, leaving the healthcare system completely overwhelmed while creating terror and a state of panic among the Lebanese people.
“Isn’t this terrorism when you target a whole population while they tend to their daily life and not fighting on the front?” he said, holding up a photo of one of the victims.
He said that the first additional protocol to the Geneva Convention of 1949 stated that the rights of parties to choose weapons of warfare is not unlimited.
Abdallah Bou Habib added that all parties to a conflict must avoid the civilian loss of life and damage of civilian infrastructure.
“Israel has become a rogue State,” he said. “This great explosion will spare neither East nor West.”
He called on the Council to condemn the recent attacks, implement resolution 1701 and stand on the right side of history, he asked members to “give peace a chance before it is too late.”
Ambassador of Slovenia to the UN Samuel Žbogar spoke in his national capacity, echoed the strong condemnation of the mobile device explosions in Lebanon, called them unprecedented and “devastatingly coordinated”, instilling fear and further destabilising the region.
“It has created a climate of terror,” he said.
“We are stepping in a dangerous new territory and as new technology is being used and developed, we underline the need to respect the existing legal obligations.”
He stressed that civilian objects should not be weaponised.
Ambassador said “the international law is clear: use of booby traps is prohibited” and that the Council must uphold it.
He called for a full investigation “those who ordered and carried out such an attack must be brought to justice.”
Samuel Žbogar said that Council must act before the situation in the region spirals beyond control, he said, emphasized that diplomacy must be the only path forward.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that the devastating bombardment, airstrikes and brutal “ground cleansings” by Israel had for nearly a year become “a grim daily reality” for the Middle East.
“Despite the protests of the international community, the abhorrent practice of targeted liquidation is expanding. It would seem that in this cauldron of violence there is no longer any act which we all do not condemn time and time again in this chamber,” he said.
He added that the electronic device attacks in Lebanon and Syria constitutes a “new high technology dimension” – a dangerous turn that Russia categorically condemns.
He said those who carried out the barbaric crimes spared nobody, with detonations taking place in markets, streets, hospitals, and other public places coordinated and remotely guided for which no one had assumed responsibility.
“However, in the region, facts have been analysed, dots have been connected and the relevant conclusions drawn. We regard what happened as a terrorist act, which poses a threat to international peace and security, with unpredictable consequences for the entire Middle East.”
Israel has made no comment on whether or not it was responsible for the wave of wireless device attacks across Lebanon on successive days this week.
Iranian envoy to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani said Israel was clearly responsible for a “systematic and provocative act of terror” in the streets of Beirut and other parts of Lebanon.
He said the attacks were a clear act of terrorism and a flagrant violation of international law, with Israel’s actions overall constituting crimes against humanity.
Mr. Iravani noted that Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon was among those injured during the device explosions and Mr. Iravani said his country would pursue accountability, taking “all necessary measures” to respond.
Israel has “crossed a red line” in its attacks on Iranian diplomats and diplomatic missions, he said.
He argued that the Council had failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security.
US support for Israel and its ally the UK enables Israel to continue its war without fear of accountability, he added.
He described Israel as rooted in aggression, occupation, terror and genocide.
Chinese Ambassador, Fu Cong, said China was profoundly shocked by the “harrowing” events that took place on the streets of Lebanon, stated that children playing in the streets had lost their eyes and mothers shopping in supermarkets had seen “limbs maimed”.
He described the attacks as a “gross violation” of national sovereignty and security and “a blatant breech of international law,” which treated human lives with “unconscionable callousness.”
Mr. Cong said that China remains deeply concerned about the escalation of violence in the region and called on Israel “to forgo its obsession with the use of force and to halt without delay its military operations in Gaza.”
Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, James Kariuki said his delegation is ready to play its role in achieving the full implementation of resolution 1701, recalled the daily attacks on Israel by Hezbollah and the civilian casualties on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border.
He said that international law must also be fully implemented. UK efforts are providing support to Lebanon, including humanitarian assistance.
“Now is the time for calm heads and an immediate ceasefire,” he said.
US Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Robert Wood stated that a broader conflict in the Middle East “is neither desirable, nor inevitable”.
He reiterated that the US had played no role in the latest incidents in Lebanon.
“The actions various actors take in the coming days, will once again, determine how the situation evolves,” he said, stressing the need for all parties to refrain from any actions that could plunge the region into a “devastating war”.
He stated that the Security Council “cannot ignore” the origins of the particular conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Prior to Hamas’ brutal terrorist attacks, quiet had largely been maintained along the Blue Line for 18 years, since the adoption of resolution 1701,” he said.
He added that the stability “was shattered” on 7 and 8 October last year, when non-State armed groups from Lebanon attacked Israel “without provocation”.
“For the past 11 months the people of Lebanon have suffered the devastating consequences of this conflict, which is not their own.”
Algeria Ambassador to the UN Amar Bendjama said his delegation called for this urgent meeting after the alarming events unfolded in Lebanon this week.
He added that such actions represent blatant violations of Council resolutions, international law and Lebanese sovereignty.
These actions “amount to war crimes,” he said, adding that the attacks “open up a Pandora’s box”.
He said the international community calls for restraint, Israel fuels conflict in the region, added that “the Israeli occupying power is not interested in peace.”
Security Council resolution 1701 must be fully implemented without bias, and Israel must withdraw from all Lebanese territory, he said.
The weaponising civilian objects like a pager is explicitly banned under certain global arms treaties.
The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons is a key international humanitarian law instrument, adopted on 10 October 1980 and entered into force in 1983, and its five protocols each prohibit the use of specific weapons from blinding lasers to booby traps.
The convention amended protocol II, or the Protocol on prohibitions or restrictions on the use of mines, booby-traps and other devices, is the only legally binding instrument that covers improvised explosive devices, commonly known as IEDs.
It defines booby-traps as any device or material which is designed, constructed or adapted to kill or injure and which functions unexpectedly when a person disturbs or approaches an apparently harmless object or performs an apparently safe act.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.