Pakistan condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon at UN Security Council meeting

Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Security Council, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemned Israeli military actions in southern Lebanon during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

During an emergency council meeting on the situation in Lebanon, Jadoon said Lebanon was a country of “extraordinary diversity,” made up of “layers of civilizations and a rich cultural and historical heritage.”

“The people of Lebanon have consistently demonstrated remarkable resilience and have maintained a vibrant social fabric based on coexistence between diverse communities and traditions,” he said.

He said Lebanon needed a period of calm to achieve its goals of peace and stability, and warned that a resumption of hostilities posed a serious risk.

He told the council that recent tensions and renewed clashes not only threaten infrastructure but also seriously put civilian lives at risk and risk reversing the fragile political and security progress that Lebanon had begun to make before the current crisis.

“Pakistan strongly condemns Israel’s continued military aggression in southern Lebanon,” he said, adding that the attacks had killed more than 400 civilians, including at least 83 children and 42 women, while more than 600,000 people had been displaced.

AFP reported that, according to the United Nations, Israeli airstrikes and evacuation orders have forced nearly 700,000 people to flee their homes in Lebanon in just over a week.

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

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

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

The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said 84 of the dead were children.

“The large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure and flagrant violations of international humanitarian law must stop immediately,” said the Pakistani diplomat.

He stressed that the use of force in Lebanon must remain the prerogative of the Lebanese State through its legitimate constitutional institutions. “The Lebanese Armed Forces play a central role in this regard, and Pakistan supports efforts to strengthen its operational capabilities and effectiveness,” Jadoon said.

The Pakistani envoy also condemned attacks on United Nations peacekeepers serving under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

He said Pakistan strongly condemns attacks on UN peacekeepers serving under the UN flag, including those injured in Israeli attacks. He added that the safety of peacekeepers must be ensured at all times.

Jadoon further described Israeli military activities in southern Lebanon, including the continued presence of forces and the establishment of positions within Lebanese territory, as “illegal and unacceptable.”

Read more: Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill nearly 300 since Monday

“We call on Israel to immediately, fully and unconditionally withdraw from all occupied Lebanese territories,” he said.

He stressed that lasting peace required the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 and respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity along the Blue Line.

Jadoon also warned that the situation in Lebanon cannot be separated from broader tensions in the Middle East. “In this delicate situation, negotiation and diplomacy must take priority over confrontation,” he stated. “A de-escalation, restraint and renewed diplomatic engagement are urgently needed.”

Concluding his remarks, the Pakistani envoy said that Islamabad firmly supports the Lebanese government and people.

“The international community must act urgently to prevent further escalation, alleviate human suffering and support Lebanon’s efforts to restore peace and stability throughout its territory,” he added.

Despite a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah since November 2024, Israel has continued almost daily violations that have left hundreds dead and injured.

Israel has killed more than 4,000 people and wounded 17,000 during an offensive in Lebanon that began in October 2023 and led to a full-scale war in September 2024.

Lebanon was drawn into the broader Middle East war on Monday when Hezbollah fired on Israel, which responded with a new military campaign that killed nearly 300 people and forced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese from their homes.

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In the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, buildings lay amid piles of smoldering rubble and twisted metal. Reuters images shown.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that the Lebanese government and all of Lebanon would “pay a heavy price” if Hezbollah is not disarmed. Israel had no territorial claims against Lebanon but would not allow cross-border shooting, Katz said.

Last year, Lebanon’s government ordered the military to establish a state monopoly on weapons. Troops had confiscated Hezbollah weapons in parts of the south, but senior Lebanese officials and security sources said pursuing the plan could cause internal tensions as the group had refused to hand over its arsenals in full.

An Israeli military officer said Reuters Israeli military operations were now acting “to eliminate the threat from Lebanon.”

Overnight, Israeli helicopters dropped troops near Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon.

Israel’s military said troops mounted the operation to search for the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator missing in Lebanon since 1986, but no finds related to him were recovered.