UN: Lebanon's territorial integrity must be respected amid Israeli military plans

The United Nations voiced deep concern Tuesday over escalating rhetoric and military activity in Lebanon, stressing that the country's territorial integrity must be respected. The warning came after Israeli officials signaled plans to control large parts of southern Lebanon and issued evacuation orders for residents.

Concern over military expansion

"This is part of the increased rhetoric that is very much concerning to us. This is the last thing we would want to see. This is the last thing the Lebanese people in the South would want to see," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. Earlier, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee issued immediate evacuation orders for several neighborhoods in southern Lebanon as Israeli forces continued their offensive. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed Monday that the Litani River should be Israel's new border with Lebanon.

Resolution 1701 reiterated

"What we need is for Israel, for Hezbollah and all other parties to fully implement Security Council Resolution 1701," Dujarric said, emphasizing that "there is no military solution" to the conflict. He reiterated that the UN is worried about "the continuing military activity that we're seeing." The spokesman stressed that "the territorial integrity of Lebanon needs to be respected. The government of Lebanon needs to be respected, and the government's authority to have monopoly on the use of force and the use of arms throughout its country needs to be respected."

Humanitarian toll

Dujarric noted that more than one million people are already displaced in Lebanon. "There needs to be a return to negotiations, and there needs to be a return to the full implementation of Security Council 1701," he added. The comments come amid a broader regional escalation following the US-Israeli offensive against Iran launched Feb. 28, which has expanded to include intensified Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.