UN says Lebanon drawn deeper into Mideast conflict as hostilities intensify

U.N. political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the United Nations Security Council that Lebanon has once again been drawn into the escalating Middle East conflict, warning that renewed violence threatens to undo progress made after the truce between Israel and Hezbollah.

DiCarlo told the council that the renewed violence has erased much of the progress achieved since the November 2024 ceasefire agreement.

She urged Hezbollah to stop its attacks on Israel and cooperate with the Lebanese government’s efforts to assert state authority over weapons.

At the same time, she called on Israel to halt its military operations in Lebanon and withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory.

“The sovereignty and territorial integrity of both Lebanon and Israel must be upheld,” she said.

DiCarlo also urged respect for international law, including international humanitarian law, stressing that civilians, infrastructure and U.N. personnel must be protected as efforts continue to restore calm and create space for dialogue.

Separately, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the council that U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon remain on the ground despite intensifying hostilities along the Blue Line.

Briefing ambassadors via video link, Lacroix said daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces since early March have sharply escalated the situation, with rockets, missiles, drones, and airstrikes reported across the area of operations.

He said the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has recorded thousands of trajectories and hundreds of Israeli airstrikes in recent days, while also observing incursions by Israeli forces north of the Blue Line.

“These developments represent violations of Security Council Resolution 1701 and risk further destabilising Lebanon and the wider region,” Lacroix said.

Meanwhile, Tom Fletcher, the U.N. aid chief, noted that the United Nations will soon launch a “three-month, hyper-prioritized Flash Appeal in Beirut” to promote humanitarian assistance to Lebanon.

In addition, he noted that $15 million will be allocated from the U.N.’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to expand assistance.

He also warned the council that Lebanon faces a worsening humanitarian crisis, adding that schools are closing to accommodate displaced communities, and that both women and children in crowded shelters face rising risks of disease, exploitation, and violence.