UN warns escalating Israel-Hezbollah violence risks devastating conflict

At UNSC, UN rights main says Israel’s attacks connected Hezbollah devices violated planetary instrumentality and could beryllium a warfare crime.

A elder United Nations authoritative has told the Security Council that further unit betwixt Israel and Iran-aligned groups Hamas successful Gaza and Hezbollah successful Lebanon risked igniting a acold much damaging conflict.

“We hazard seeing a conflagration that could dwarf adjacent the devastation and suffering witnessed truthful far,” UN governmental affairs main Rosemary DiCarlo told the 15-member assembly connected Friday, which met astir attacks this week connected Hezbollah.

“It is not excessively precocious to debar specified folly. There is inactive country for diplomacy,” she said. “I besides powerfully impulse subordinate states with power implicit the parties to leverage it now.”

As its warfare successful Gaza nears 1 twelvemonth old, Israel killed astatine slightest 14 radical and wounded 66 successful an air raid connected the Lebanese superior Beirut connected Friday.

The Israeli subject claimed that a top Hezbollah commander and different elder figures successful the Lebanese question were among the dead, and pledged to behaviour a caller subject run until it secures the country astir the Lebanese border.

Hezbollah has not confirmed the deaths of immoderate commanders connected Friday.

Israel’s aerial raid followed two days of attacks successful which Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded, sidesplitting 37 radical and wounding thousands. Those attacks were wide believed to person been carried retired by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.

On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told the Security Council that the onslaught connected Hezbollah communications devices violated planetary instrumentality and could represent a warfare crime.

Turk said it was “difficult to conceive” however the attacks connected Hezbollah’s communications devices “could perchance conform with the cardinal principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions successful attack, nether planetary humanitarian law”.

He added that helium was “appalled” by the attacks utilizing connection devices.

“This has unleashed wide fear, panic and fearfulness among radical successful Lebanon, already suffering successful an progressively volatile concern since October 2023 and crumbling nether a terrible and longstanding economical crisis. This cannot beryllium the caller normal,” helium said.

Turk called for an independent, thorough and transparent probe and for those who ordered and carried retired the attacks to beryllium held to account.

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the assembly that the US expects each parties to comply with planetary humanitarian instrumentality and instrumentality each tenable steps to minimise harm to civilians, particularly successful densely populated areas.

“It is imperative that adjacent arsenic facts look astir the latest incidents – successful which I reiterate, the United States played nary relation – each parties refrain from immoderate actions which could plunge the portion into a devastating war.”

Tens of thousands of radical person been evacuated from homes connected some sides of the Israel-Lebanon borderline since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel successful October successful enactment of Gaza, wherever Israel is waging a devastating warfare that has killed much than 41,000 Palestinians.

Israel, which past fought an all-out warfare against Hezbollah 18 years ago, has said it volition usage unit if indispensable to guarantee its citizens tin instrumentality to their homes successful bluish Israel.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies