From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 28, 2024
EU foreign policy chief calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Lebanon
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The EU foreign policy chief renews calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in Lebanon and condemns what he calls Israel’s “unacceptable attacks” on UN peacekeepers in its war against the Hezbollah terror group.
UNIFIL has reported several injuries and damage to its facilities since Israel launched its ground offensive in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah at the end of September after a year of rocket fire by the terror group.
The IDF has said it does not target the peacekeeping troops, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Hezbollah is using the force as “human shields” and called on it to withdraw.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tells a forum in Barcelona that the bloc calls “for an immediate ceasefire across the blue lines” UNIFIL monitors, and for relevant UN Security Council resolutions to be respected.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 requires that the Lebanese Armed Forces be the only force with arms in southern Lebanon.
The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither UNIFIL peacekeepers nor the LAF willing to challenge the Iran-backed terror group.
The Times of Israel Community.