At The UN Meeting, Lebanon To Turkey Asked Israel To Stop Military Operations In The Middle East

UNSPLASH/Salya T ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Lebanon and other countries are calling for greater pressure on Israel to end its military operations in the Middle East.

This pressure was conveyed at a UN meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, October 10. It was emphasized that if Israel repeated the Gaza method in Lebanon, it would have major disaster consequences.

Pakistan, as chairman of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, hosted the meeting to review the humanitarian situation a year after the Gaza war, sparked by a Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people and 250 people held hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

As reported by Reuters on Thursday, October 10, while speaking in front of UN officials and ambassadors, the Palestinian ambassador said the suffering from the one-year conflict in Gaza was "irrepresentable".

Meanwhile, the Lebanese envoy accused Israel of using the same malicious guidelines in its country as in Gaza.

Israel's attack on Gaza killed more than 42,000 people, according to Gaza's health authorities, and left most coastal areas in ruins.

Since Israel intensified its military action against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah last month, more than 1,000 people have been killed and one million people have fled their homes, Lebanese authorities said.

Israel says it is targeting military capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza and is taking steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians in both regions.

Israel accuses Hezbollah and Hamas of hiding among civilians, but they deny it.

Military operations against fully armed Hezbollah aim to secure the return of Israelis evacuated from areas near the border as a result of Hezbollah rocket attacks for nearly a year to northern Israel in support of Hamas.

"When these atrocities continue to occur, we have the right to ask ourselves after one year, what are the real goals and the ultimate goals of this action?", said Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Salim Baddoura.

There is an urgent need for the international community to forcibly push for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid without a hitch, he added while warning of the risk of an all-out war in the region.

South African envoy Mxolisi Nkosi described Gaza as an apocalyptic humanitarian disaster, in line with a statement by UN agencies condemning security risks and the difficulty of distributing aid there.

Turkish Ambassador Burak Ak Badapar called for a comprehensive arms embargo against Israel. "We cannot see the goal (military) of Israel being clearly defined," he added.