FO warns Israeli aggression against Lebanon could worsen regional crises

The Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday condemned Israel’s continued military aggression against Lebanon, warning that it could further exacerbate the already fragile security and humanitarian situation in the region where Iran's conflict with the United States and Israel drags on.

The FO statement came amid the escalating tensions across the Middle East following US-Israeli strikes on Iran that assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The strikes have triggered wider regional instability, with Iran launching retaliatory attacks on US bases in Gulf states.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said Israeli air strikes and evacuation orders have forced nearly 700,000 people to flee their homes in Lebanon within just over a week, AFP reported.

In a statement issued today, the FO said: “The Israeli actions, which are in contravention of international law, are undermining the efforts of the Government of Lebanon to ensure peace and stability and have the potential to further exacerbate the ongoing security and humanitarian crises in the region."

The FO urged the international community to take urgent steps to halt the Israeli military operations, indiscriminate targeting of civilians and the continued violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The FO also expressed Pakistan’s full solidarity with the people of Lebanon amid the escalating violence, which it said had resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and the displacement of nearly half a million people.

"Pakistan expresses its complete solidarity with the brotherly people of Lebanon in the face of this aggression and will continue to support all efforts aimed at ensuring lasting peace in Lebanon as well as the wider region," the FO concluded.

Separately, Karolina Lindholm Billing, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Lebanon, said the latest escalation had compelled families to flee their homes within minutes after Israeli air strikes and evacuation warnings were issued to residents of dozens of villages.

“More than 667,000 people in Lebanon have now registered on the government’s online platform as displaced,” she said, noting that the figure had risen by more than 100,000 in a single day.

Lebanese authorities said on Monday that Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed at least 486 people and wounded at least 1,313.

The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said 84 of those killed were children.