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 | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
The war in Gaza has inflicted a far higher toll on women and girls than in previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 38,000 killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA , IFRC
Lebanon faces escalating violence, with new mothers uncertain of safety amid ongoing crises.
1
1
1
Edited News | FAO , UNHCR , WHO
Sudan: 14 million displaced; hunger and attacks on health continue as war enters fourth year
As Sudan approaches the third anniversary of a brutal civil war, millions remain displaced and hungry while the health system lies in ruins, with no end to the violence in sight, UN agencies said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNHCR , WFP
Lebanon: People ‘still under the rubble’ after massive strikes as ambulances, hospitals come under threat – UN humanitarians
With Lebanon still reeling from Israel’s devastating airstrikes on 8 April, UN humanitarians reported new fears of attacks on ambulances and looming food shortages in the south of the country on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WHO
Lebanon: disease risks on the rise as displacement surges
With displacement in Lebanon past the one million mark, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday about the spread of infectious diseases in shelters and surging mental health needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers are supporting civilians who’ve chosen to stay in the south amid deadly dangers from Israel-Hezbollah clashes, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandace Ardiel tells us.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WFP
Middle East war fallout: Hundreds of thousands flee Lebanon to Syria; vital food aid blocked – UN agencies
The trauma of mass displacement and humanitarian supply chain disruptions throughout the world are among the devastating impacts of the war raging in the Middle East, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Bitterness, sadness and pride for UNRWA staff, says departing chief
Asking the softly spoken, veteran humanitarian worker Philippe Lazzarini how he feels as he comes to the end of his second term as the head of the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, is perhaps an unfair question.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , WHO
Middle East war causes civilian terror and disrupts aid, but some relief efforts resume.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk addressed the Human Rights Council, delivering a video statement on the strike that hit a girls school in Minab, Iran recently, calling for accountability and protection of children.