“I condemn the widening of the conflict in the Middle East, with one escalation after another,” he said in terse tones. declare.
“This must stop. We really need a ceasefire.”
Hostility increased
According to media reports, Iran fired a series of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, just hours after Israel launched what it called a “limited” ground attack on southern Lebanon.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries on the ground in Israel and the Israeli military said about 180 rockets were fired, most of which were intercepted.
The development follows Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, which targeted and killed the leader of the armed group Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah.
Last month, dozens of people were killed and thousands injured in two consecutive days of electronic device explosions targeting Hezbollah members.
Conflict boils
Cross-border attacks between Israeli forces and Hezbollah rebels have increased as the war in Gaza is about to enter its second year.
Nearly 20 years ago, the two sides had a conflict in Lebanon. In response, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to end the 34-day conflict.
Resolution 1701 (2006) calls for the existing United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIT) to be given stronger rules of engagement and expanded to include up to 15,000 peacekeepers to support Lebanese forces as they deploy across the south of the country at the same time as Israel withdraws area.
Learn more about internal resolution Our explainer.
Consequences of the Yemen attack
Additionally, the United Nations reported that Israeli airstrikes against Yemen on Sunday did not cripple infrastructure in the key port city of Hudaydah.
Israel launched attacks on Hudaydah and the nearby port of Ras Issa after Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched missiles and drones at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon.
Hudaydah is located on the Red Sea and plays a key role in securing humanitarian aid and fuel into Yemen, where Government forces, supported by the Saudi-led coalition, and the Houthis have been fighting in a decade.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the Houthis have attacked merchant ships plying the Red Sea, thereby putting pressure on global maritime trade and increasing tensions in the region.
The ports are still active
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Julien Harneis, arrived in Hudaydah on Tuesday to assess the situation and ongoing efforts to provide food and nutrition as needs increase, especially especially along the west coast of Yemen.
“Our humanitarian partners also reported that, after conducting an initial assessment, both ports remain operational and able to receive commercial and humanitarian”. speak during his daily press conference from New York.
However, he added that power plants across Hudaydah city are operating at very limited capacity, while the United Nations is distributing fuel to medical facilities to keep generators running. electricity.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon arrived at United Nations headquarters on Tuesday afternoon to offer a response to Iran’s missile attack earlier in the day:
