The United Kingdom\u00a0joined in calling\u00a0this meeting\u00a0to condemn\u00a0the severe escalation of Israeli military action in Lebanon over recent days.<\/p>\n
This reckless and disproportionate escalation of Israeli military action has exacerbated an already devastating environment for Lebanese civilians and placed the Government of Lebanon under further strain. Civilians have been\u00a0killed and\u00a0over 1 million displaced, civilian homes and infrastructure destroyed, and the space for diplomacy eroded.<\/p>\n
Further escalation on this scale is simply not proportionate and cannot set the conditions for lasting peace.<\/p>\n
We reiterate that Hizballah, at the instigation of Iran,\u00a0have\u00a0dragged Lebanon into a war that its government and people do not want.\u00a0We strongly condemn Lebanese Hizballah\u2019s ongoing attacks against Israel.\u00a0We also condemn recent comments by<\/p>\n
Hizballah\u2019s leadership that seek to destabilise the democratically elected Government of Lebanon within their own country.\u00a0Hizballah does not speak or act for the people of Lebanon.<\/p>\n
We are\u00a0clear\u00a0Hizballah must end attacks on Israel and disarm.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
UNICEF reported last week that 15 children were killed and 62 injured in\u00a0Lebanon last week\u00a0as a result of the conflict \u2013 that\u2019s 11 children killed or injured every 24 hours. Healthcare workers are also facing death and injury as they carry out their duties.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0The escalation must end. We call upon all parties to uphold their obligations under international law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s legitimate concerns about the security of\u00a0their\u00a0northern communities will not be solved by military escalation. The talks convened by the US between the Governments of Israel and Lebanon are the only viable path towards a lasting political settlement and the disarmament of Hizballah.<\/p>\n
We warmly welcomed these talks\u00a0\u2013 and\u00a0yet progress is being undermined by both Hizballah and Israel. All parties must implement a genuine and lasting cessation of hostilities to allow space for real diplomatic progress.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
We support the efforts of the Lebanese government to extend its authority throughout the country in line with UNSCR 1701, including\u00a0through the strengthening of Lebanese state institutions and security forces, and the disarmament of\u00a0Hizballah. We call for swift implementation. Escalation in Lebanon and across the Blue Line\u00a0risks\u00a0further destabilising Lebanon and undermining critical negotiations to achieve peace across the region.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0The UK will continue to support diplomatic efforts that deliver lasting peace and security for both Lebanon and Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United Kingdom\u00a0joined in calling\u00a0this meeting\u00a0to condemn\u00a0the severe escalation of Israeli military action in Lebanon over recent days.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-616026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}