“I condemn the expansion of the conflict in the Middle East, with escalation after escalation,” he said succinctly. statement.
“This has to stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”
Increasing hostilities
According to media reports, Iran fired waves of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, just hours after Israel launched a so-called “limited” ground incursion into southern Lebanon.
There were no immediate reports of injuries on the ground in Israel and the Israeli military said about 180 rockets were fired, most of which were intercepted.
The developments follow Israeli airstrikes on Friday in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, which killed the leader of the armed Hezbollah group Hassan Nasrallah.
Last month, dozens were killed and thousands injured during two consecutive days of explosions of electronic devices targeting Hezbollah members.
Simmering conflict
Cross-border attacks between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have increased in the context of the Gaza war, which is about to enter a second year.
Nearly two decades ago, the two sides were involved in hostilities in Lebanon. In response, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution aimed at ending the 34-day conflict.
Resolution 1701 (2006) called for the existing UN interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) should be given more robust rules of engagement and expanded to up to 15,000 peacekeepers in support of the Lebanese Armed Forces deploying in the south of the country, at the same time that Israel withdrew from the area.
Read more about the resolution in our explainer.
Aftermath of the attacks in Yemen
Separately, the UN said Israeli airstrikes on Yemen on Sunday failed to paralyze the infrastructure of the crucial port city of Hudaydah.
Israel carried out attacks on Hudaydah and the nearby port of Ras Issa after Houthi rebels in Yemen launched rockets and drones at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon.
Located on the Red Sea, Hudaydah plays a crucial role in ensuring that humanitarian aid and fuel enter Yemen, where government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Houthis have been fighting for a decade.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the Houthis have been attacking merchant ships plying the Red Sea, straining global maritime trade and adding to escalating regional tensions.
Ports are still active
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Julien Harneis, traveled to Hudaydah on Tuesday to assess the situation and ongoing efforts to deliver food and nutrition as needs increase, especially along Yemen’s west coast.
“Our humanitarian partners also report that, following an initial assessment, both ports remain operational and can receive commercial and humanitarian goods,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. said during his daily briefing from New York.
He added that power plants in Hudaydah city are, however, running at very limited capacity, while the UN is distributing fuel to health facilities to keep their generators running.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon went to the surveillance post at UN Headquarters on Tuesday afternoon to provide a response to the Iranian missile attack earlier in the day: