Lebanese PM urges UN for more measures to stop Israel's targeting of civilians

Beirut, Sep 9 (IANS) Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday slammed Israel's targeting of civilians in Lebanon, urging the UN Security Council to take more effective and decisive measures to address Israeli violations and attacks on Lebanon.

"The Security Council's response must be swift and strong," Mikati said during his meeting with ambassadors of foreign countries, according to a statement released by the Lebanese Council of Ministers, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mikati's remarks followed Israel's killing of three civil defense personnel on Saturday while they were trying to extinguish a fire caused by an Israeli airstrike on Wadi Froun in southern Lebanon.

In the statement, Mikati thanked the Security Council for its support for renewing the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and its continued commitment to stability in Lebanon, calling on the Security Council to "assume its responsibility in preserving international law and security by holding accountable those responsible for targeting Lebanese civilians."

For his part, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said after the meeting that all ambassadors confirmed their support for protecting civilians and recalled the law issued in Geneva, Switzerland, which calls for the protection of all civilians during war, including journalists and civil defense teams.

"We, as a government, want a ceasefire and an end to the war, and we have informed most of those concerned of our readiness to conduct indirect negotiations with the Israelis for that purpose," Bou Habib said.

Meanwhile, Bou Habib noted that Hezbollah is not a state to accept or reject a ceasefire.

"The Lebanese state is the one that says yes or no. If there is a kind of good decision that we accept as a state, we will try to convince Hezbollah of it, and this is the responsibility of the Lebanese state," he said.

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

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