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.



Geagea Calls on Hezbollah to Work with Lebanese Army

 Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)
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Geagea Calls on Hezbollah to Work with Lebanese Army

 Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged on Friday Hezbollah to engage with the Lebanese army and devise a plan to dismantle its military infrastructure south and north of the Litani river.

In a press conference Friday, Geagea criticized Hezbollah for opening a front with Israel and accused the Shiite group of committing a “major crime” against the Lebanese people.

“We could have done without the martyrdom of more than 4,000 people, the displacement of thousands and the destruction across the country,” he said. “Despite all these tragedies, Hezbollah continues to talk about a victory using a bizarre and disconnected logic that has no basis in reality.”

Geagea’s comments came two days after a US-brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect. More than 3,900 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel's conflict with Hezbollah escalated.

Geagea, whose Lebanese Forces Party holds the largest bloc in Lebanon’s 128-member parliament, also addressed Lebanon’s presidential deadlock. The country has been without a president for more than two years.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has scheduled a session for presidential elections in January. "Consultations with opposition factions and our allies will begin in the coming days to explore the possibility of agreeing on presidential candidates and bringing them to parliament,” Geagea said.