The British Foreign Secretary has reiterated his concern about the current tensions on the Israeli-Lebanese border, calling for a de-escalation on the Blue Line.
“I am here on the ground to meet with key figures to call for an immediate de-escalation in the region,” David Lammy said in a Foreign Office statement released on Friday, after the end of his visit to Lebanon on Thursday with Defence Secretary John Healey.
Lammy, who was on his first official visit to Lebanon as foreign minister, called for de-escalation along the Blue Line and the need for a diplomatic solution based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
His visit comes after condemnation of the attack on the Golan Heights, which left at least 12 dead, and raised serious concerns about the risk of further escalation and destabilization.
Lammy and Healey met with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Joseph Aoun, the statement added.
“I expressed my concerns about the current tensions between Lebanon and Israel and stressed the UK’s determination to avoid any miscalculation,” David Lammy said.
John Healey added: “De-escalation must be our primary objective at a pivotal time in this region. The loss of innocent lives over the past weeks and months is unbearable. It must stop.”
Tensions are running high between Hezbollah and Israel following the rocket attack launched on July 27 against the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel accused Hezbollah of being behind the attack, but the Lebanese group denied responsibility.
On July 30, the Israeli army carried out an attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, targeting a senior Hezbollah commander. The following day, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas announced that its leader Ismail Haniyeh had been killed by an Israeli attack in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Israel has not yet confirmed or denied its involvement in the attack.
Ignoring UN Security Council resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has drawn the wrath of the international community by continuing its brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
According to local health officials, about 39,500 Palestinians have been killed since then, the most of them are women and children, with over 91,000 others injured.
Nearly ten months after the start of the Israeli assault, enormous swathes of Gaza are in ruins and under a punishing siege that prevents access to food, clean water, and medication.
Israel is being prosecuted for the “crime of genocide” before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has ordered it to immediately cease its military operations in the city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where more than a million Palestinians had taken refuge before the city was invaded on May 6.
