UN Says Attacks in Beirut, Tehran Are a Dangerous Escalation

 Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres meets with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach (unseen) ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres meets with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach (unseen) ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Reuters)
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UN Says Attacks in Beirut, Tehran Are a Dangerous Escalation

 Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres meets with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach (unseen) ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres meets with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach (unseen) ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that attacks in Beirut and Tehran this week mark a "dangerous escalation" of the conflict in the Middle East, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.

"It is increasingly clear ... that restraint alone is insufficient at this extremely sensitive time. The Secretary-General urges all to vigorously work toward regional de-escalation in the interest of long-term peace and stability for all," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.



UN Deeply Concerned as 45 Lebanese Soldiers Killed amid Israel-Hezbollah War

 A general view shows Mais al-Jabal in southern Lebanon amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
A general view shows Mais al-Jabal in southern Lebanon amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Deeply Concerned as 45 Lebanese Soldiers Killed amid Israel-Hezbollah War

 A general view shows Mais al-Jabal in southern Lebanon amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
A general view shows Mais al-Jabal in southern Lebanon amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)

The United Nations said it is “deeply alarmed” by escalating hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, and is concerned at numerous attacks on the Lebanese Armed Forces which says 45 of its soldiers have lost their lives.

The Lebanese military has declared its “non-involvement” in the ongoing Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday.

Dujarric said UN special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert was in Israel on Monday for talks with senior Israeli officials on the urgent need for a ceasefire and implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The resolution calls for the Lebanese army to deploy in southern Lebanon bordering Israel, territory still controlled by Hezbollah.

Dujarric said Lebanese authorities report that an average of 250 people have been killed every week in November, bringing the death toll to more than 3,700 since October 2023.