The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Lebanon crisis: UN rights chief urges warring parties to agree on ceasefire
UN human rights chief Volker Türk lent his weight to growing ceasefire calls in Lebanon on Tuesday, as senior Israeli cabinet members were reportedly due to meet on a deal to end more than a year of conflict with Hezbollah militants, sparked by the war in Gaza.
The development follows dire assessments from UN aid teams about the cost of “relentless” Israeli attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs since the weekend, resulting in extensive damage and significant casualties, and forcing more people to flee their homes.
“The High Commissioner reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire to put an end to the killings and the destruction,” stressed Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). “Israeli military action in Lebanon has caused widescale loss of civilian life, including the killing of entire families, widespread displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, raising serious concerns about respect for the principles of proportionality, distinction and necessity.”
At the same time, Hezbollah rocket fire has continued into northern Israel, resulting in civilian casualties, the OHCHR spokesperson noted. “Most of these rockets are indiscriminate by nature along with the displacement of many Israeli civilians, which is unacceptable. The only way to end the suffering of people on all sides is a permanent and immediate ceasefire on all fronts: in Lebanon, in Israel and in Gaza.”
The latest update from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reported that a deadly air strike on Saturday in Beirut “demolished a residential building, claiming nearly 30 lives and injuring more than 65 people. This is out of a total 84 people killed in the country that day alone, according to the authorities.”
On average, 250 people have been killed every week in November in Lebanon, bringing the death toll to more than 3,700 since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023, OCHA said, while the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) condemned the killing of at least nine youngsters between 22 and 23 November, “including boys and girls who were sleeping in their beds”.
The UN agency said that the total number of child deaths has reached at least 240 since October 2023 when Hezbollah rocket fire escalated in response to Israeli bombardment of nearby Gaza.
Despite ongoing security concerns, the UN and humanitarian partners remain on the ground to try to scale up efforts to continue providing critical assistance.
As of 19 November, UNICEF reported carrying out 14 humanitarian convoys, reaching some 50,000 people in areas that are difficult to access, such as Tyre, Rmeich, Marjaayoun and Hasbaya. The UN agency has also supported displaced families living on the streets of Beirut, helping them find shelter amid a severe urban displacement crisis.
Meanwhile late Monday, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that it had delivered 48 tons of medical supplies to support the Lebanese health authority’s chronic medication programme, ensuring that 300,000 people “have continued access to essential medicines”.
Lebanon ceasefire call – OHCHR
TRT: 02 min 00s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 NOVEMBER 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Speaker:
- Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR
SHOTLIST
-
- Exterior médium-wide: UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide, UN Geneva Press room, journalists, screens.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR: “The High Commissioner reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire to put an end to the killings and the destruction. Israeli military action in Lebanon has caused widescale loss of civilian life, including the killing of entire families, widespread displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, raising serious concerns about respect for the principles of proportionality, distinction and necessity.”
- Medium-wide, Press room, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR: “The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has also continued to fire rockets on the north of Israel, which has resulted in civilian casualties. Most of these rockets are indiscriminate by nature along with the displacement of many Israeli civilians, which is unacceptable. The only way to end the suffering of people on all sides is a permanent and immediate ceasefire on all fronts; in Lebanon, in Israel and in Gaza.”
- Medium-wide, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR: “At least seven paramedics were reportedly killed in three separate Israeli strikes on the south of Lebanon, adding to the 226 healthcare workers reported killed between the 7 October and 18 November this year. These are further indications of just how brutal this war has been on civilians.”
- Medium-wide, podium speakers, Press room, TV journalist and camera.
- Medium-wide, Press room, TV screens.
- Medium-wide, TV journalist and camera, control booths.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights Office report released today on Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on Tuesday concerning the deadly blast at a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul:
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on the impact of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , WFP
Middle East war may deepen global hunger; mass displacement, rights violations on the rise
The Middle East war could cause the worst disruption to humanitarian work since COVID, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC
The UN’s top human rights forum gathered in Geneva on Monday, where Member States highlighted the growing civilian toll of war in the Middle East, sparked by Israeli and U.S. bombing of Iran, counter-strikes by Tehran against Gulf states and Israeli shelling of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to attacks by the armed group.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL , UNFPA , IOM , UNHCR
As the UN Secretary-General touched down in Beirut on Friday in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, UN agencies highlighted the dangers for civilians and particularly pregnant women and migrant workers, amid ongoing airstrikes and rocket fire between Hezbollah fighters and Israel.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Russia’s deportations of Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity: independent UN rights probe
Scores of Ukrainian children are still missing after being deported far and wide across Russia and occupied territories while their families continue to search for them, human rights investigators said on Thursday.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
The UN’s emergency relief chief on Wednesday condemned the “$1 billion-a-day” cost of the war roiling the Middle East, at a time of severe cuts to the global body’s humanitarian work in emergencies and “soaring” needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO , UNHCR , UNICEF , WFP
Middle East war: UN warns of ‘toxic rain’ danger from oil depot strikes as mass displacement, aid supply shocks spread
Toxic “black rain” linked to strikes on oil depots, mass displacement and continuing disruption to humanitarian supply chains are upending lives across the Middle East and beyond after 10 days of war in the region, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Friday made the following remarks on Israel’s military ground incursions and displacement orders in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , IOM , WHO
The escalating war in the Middle East has heightened growing concerns about further civilian suffering and displacement in the region and far beyond, UN agencies said on Friday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk made the following remarks at a press stake out on the current situation in the Middle East.
“The crisis sparked in the Middle East one week ago following US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Iran’s counterattacks, has been spreading like wildfire. It is causing significant damage in Iran, Israel and at least a dozen other countries, mostly in the Gulf, with risks of major economic and environmental ramifications across the world,” he said.