The UN said on Tuesday that peacekeepers witnessed “shocking” destruction of villages in southern Lebanon along the UN-patrolled Green Line that separates the country from Israel, along with further ground incursions by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and continued attacks by Hezbollah. .
Although the Mission’s surveillance capabilities were limited due to hostilities, he said, they had witnessed Israeli forces making incursions “more than two or three kilometers deep” inside the territory. Lebanon before withdrawing.
Speaking to reporters from Beirut, Tenenti reported on daily Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon as well as Hezbollah’s missile and drone attacks on Israel that have caused “devastation.” over a large area” of towns and villages on both sides of the Green Line.
The village was destroyed
On the Lebanese side, the destruction was “huge, shocking”. Villages like Kfar Kila, Maroun al-Ras and others “were completely destroyed by IDF attacks,” he said.
Of the original population of about 600,000, Tenenti said up to 60,000 people remain. IN UNITThe operating area is in the South and needs support.
According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 900,000 people were internally displaced, nearly 60% of them from the South.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, as of Monday, more than 3,500 people have been killed and nearly 15,000 injured since the start of the conflict on October 8 last year.
UNIFIL itself suffered “many losses in property and personnel” Mr. Tenenti said that throughout the conflict, he continued to facilitate humanitarian work to save lives in his area of operation, coordinating daily with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the government Lebanon and aid agencies.
The Mission’s more than 10,000 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries remain in place and “there is no discussion of withdrawal,” he emphasized, despite “the conditions very difficult” faced by peacekeepers near the Green Line.
“We are here not only because we need to… monitor, be present and do the best we can to support humanitarian organizations, support local people but also for the next day.”
“We are ready to support any agreement that the two sides may decide on,” he added.
The UNIFIL spokesman further emphasized that although Security Council resolution 1701underpinning the mission’s mandate, has been “significantly challenged” over the past 14 months, key provisions on safety, security and long-term solutions “remain in force”, while implementation Being fully present remains “one of the most important things.” viable political roadmap for peace”.
Children’s horror is normalized
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesman James Elder warned about “normalizing the silence of terror” for children in Lebanon, where an average of three young people have been killed every day over the past two months, and “ many more [are] gets hurt, more people get hurt.”
“We must hope that humanity will never again allow the level of child slaughter taking place in Gaza, despite the terrifying similarities for children in Lebanon,” he said.
These include the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes amid Israeli airstrikes and “disproportionate attacks” that have hit infrastructure on which children depend, especially medical facilities.
Mr Elder also spoke of the “severe psychological impact” of the war on teenagers and regretted the lack of “meaningful response” to the killing of children from “influential people”. .
Last weekend’s airstrikes in central Beirut showed that, like in Gaza, “nowhere is safe” in Lebanon, a UNICEF spokesman said.
Flexible front line
“The front line moved everywhere. Families… were asked to move. They don’t know where to move,” he said, stressing that for families who have lost their homes and are living in shelters, “that shelter does not represent any form of real safety.” anything for them”.
“Once again, the cries of children go unheard, the silence of the world becomes deafening, and once again we allow the unimaginable to become the landscape of childhood. A terrible and unacceptable new normal,” Mr. Elder concluded.
Amid the ongoing desperate humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) A spokeswoman for Margaret Harris has issued a warning about the situation at Beit Lahiya’s besieged Kamal Adwan hospital.
The hospital’s 78 patients lacked food, water and medical supplies. “It’s really only enough for two weeks, but many of the specific supplies are not there,” she warned.
Lack of medical care
The hospital also lacks medical staff, with only one pediatrician and one volunteer orthopedic resident. Four planned WHO delegations to the hospital were turned away by Israeli authorities between 8 and 16 November while two other delegations granted access were not allowed to bring fuel, supplies or water. .
“We desperately need to be able to provide appropriate aid to do the work of keeping Kamal Adwan hospital open,” Dr. Harris urged. “And that means constant, unhindered access, not arbitrarily denied.”
“We need to be able to bring in emergency medical teams. There are wonderful people willing to risk a very dangerous situation to help those children, but we cannot take them in,” she said.
