Posted by: John Phoenix
Moscow strongly condemns Israel’s large-scale military attacks against Lebanon, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary.
The day before, IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the country’s air forces had struck 1,300 military facilities of the Hezbollah Shiite movement throughout Lebanon.
Death toll from Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon rises to 569
Lebanon’s Acting Health Minister Firas Abiad said the death toll from Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon climbed from 558 to 569, with more than 1,800 others wounded.
“Among the victims are 50 children and 94 women. Four ambulance staff were also killed and 16 others were injured after their vehicles were hit by air strikes,” he said. “I believe that the attacks on medical personnel were deliberate.”
According to the official, an Israeli bombardment destroyed a hospital in the town of Bint Jbeil. Abiad said Lebanon’s medical establishments are operating in emergency conditions for a second straight week. “Hospitals are overcrowded and doctors have been put under a huge strain,” he said.
Half a Million of Displaced. UN Refugee Agency members Killed
The United Nations says it is “extremely alarmed” by “the sudden escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah” in Lebanon, where “tens of thousands” of people have fled the violence.
“We are gravely concerned by the serious escalation of attacks we witnessed yesterday. Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes yesterday and tonight, and their numbers continue to grow,” a spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), Matthew Saltmarsh, told a news conference in Geneva.
The displaced in Lebanon “are close to half a million”. Lebanese Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said this while speaking at the debate of the 79th United Nations General Assembly.
Two staff members of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, the organization’s director general Filippo Grandi announced on X. Grandi criticized the Israeli airstrikes, which he said were “relentlessly killing hundreds of civilians”. “On behalf of all of us at UNHCR, our deepest condolences to their families, friends and colleagues”, he added.
Russia strongly condemns Israel’s large-scale attacks on Lebanon — Foreign Ministry
The Russian diplomat Zakharobva emphasized that the latest escalation in Lebanon is deeply worrying. “On September 23, the Israeli leadership announced that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces – TASS) had launched an offensive operation, dubbed ‘Northern Arrows,’ aimed at undermining the military infrastructure of the Hezbollah movement.”
The Israeli Air Force carried out massive airstrikes across Lebanon, with dozens of settlements in the south and east of the country being targeted. “Hezbollah, in turn, intensified its rocket attacks on military facilities in Israel,” she added.
“We strongly condemn the large-scale military attacks against Lebanon. We would especially like to emphasize our principled position on the inadmissibility of indiscriminate attacks that target civilians,” the diplomat stressed.
The need for a settlement
Zakharova noted the need to “urgently stop the spiral of violence before the situation gets out of control.” “We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, which would prevent further bloodshed and create conditions for moving the situation toward a political and diplomatic settlement,” she added.
“We must do everything possible to prevent the Middle East from plunging into a full-scale armed conflict, the devastating consequences of which will inevitably affect everyone – both in the region and beyond,” Zakharova stressed.
According to the diplomat, Russia is ready “to coordinate efforts with international and regional partners in order to prevent such a catastrophic scenario.” “We proceed from the fact that the security of any state in the region should not be ensured at the expense of others,” the spokeswoman added.
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