'Refrain From Escalatory Action': UN, Lebanon PM Urge De-Escalation After Israel-Hezbollah Strikes

The United Nations and Lebanon’s prime minister urged de-escalation Sunday after Israel struck Lebanon and Hezbollah said it launched attacks on Israeli positions, in a major escalation of cross-border hostilities.

The office of the UN special coordinator for Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) “call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action”, a joint statement said, describing the latest developments as “worrying”.

“A return to the cessation of hostilities, followed by the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, is the only sustainable way forward,” the statement added. The resolution ended a 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and called for the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers to be the only armed forces deployed in south Lebanon.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Sunday told ministers at an emergency meeting that he had been holding “a series of contacts with Lebanon’s friends to stop the escalation”. “What is required is to stop the Israeli aggression first of all, and to apply Resolution 1701,” a statement from his office said.

Mikati also emphasised Lebanon’s “support for international efforts that could lead to a ceasefire in Gaza”, according to the statement. Iran-backed Hezbollah has exchanged regular fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. Calls have mounted for the full implementation of the UN Resolution 1701 as a way of ending the current violence.