The ICRC today distributed a total of 3,000 family parcels to both residents and displaced persons in the villages of Naqura, Alma Ech Chaab, Dhaira, Yarine, Ramiyé and Rmeish. The parcels contained enough supplies for one week, including food, household items, blankets and other essentials. First aid workers from the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) evacuated six injured people to hospital, along with 10 unaccompanied children and one elderly person. The situation was particularly alarming in Rmeish. People who had fled the village told ICRC delegates that people were drinking foul water from a pool used to collect water for irrigation. There was also a shortage of food, especially for babies. Read more about ICRC: 150,000 Lebanese have taken refuge in Syria
Voicing its shock and distress at the Israeli Defence Forces’ (IDF) killing of four unarmed United Nations military observers in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, the Security Council today called on the Israeli Government to conduct a full investigation. In a statement read out by Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sablière of France, its President for July, the 15-member Council stressed that “Israel and all concerned parties must comply fully with their obligations” under international humanitarian law on the protection of UN and associated personnel, and ensure that UN staff are not the object of attack. Meanwhile, in the past 24 hours there have been three incidents of firing close to UN positions from the Israeli side. Read more about Security Council calls for comprehensive Israeli inquiry into killing of UN peacekeepers
Self-defence is specifically mentioned in Article 51 of the UN Charter, and is effectively a derogation from the prohibition on the use of force contained in Article 2 (4). Whether or not Israel is acting in self-defence in Lebanon according to the Charter is a crucial question, as the implications of its actions could have negative ramifications beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict and spill over into other problem areas. I consider Israel’s self-defence argument an abuse of terminology that is not applicable to the facts at hand and has no justification in international law. Read more about Israel, Hezbollah, and the use and abuse of self-defence in international law
The IDF has maintained their presence inside Lebanese territory in the area of Marun Al Ras, Bint Jubayl and Yarun in the central sector. Intensive fighting in these areas, as well as the shelling of the area of Aytarun, and the aerial bombardment of the areas of At Tiri and Brashit north of Bint Jubayl was reported yesterday. This morning, sporadic fighting was reported in Bint Jubayl and Marun Al Ras, and intensive shelling of the area of At Tiri. There are a number of civilians who are still stranded in these towns and caught in the crossfire. Read more about UNIFIL: Civilians caught in the crossfire
Amnesty International is gravely concerned about the continuing transfer of weapons from the US, via the UK, as information emerged that a UK airport is being used by USA cargo planes on their way to deliver munitions to Israel. “The pattern of attacks and the extent of civilian casualties show a blatant disregard of international humanitarian law by Israel and Hizbullah,” said Irene Khan, Amnesty International Secretary General. “Direct targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure and launching indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks amount to war crimes.” Read more about Urgent need for arms embargo on Israel and Hizbullah
The United Nations has secured agreements with Israel to ship desperately-needed aid into Beirut, the UN’s Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Jan Egeland said on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem, Egeland said the UN was also negotiating humanitarian sea corridors to bring aid to southern Lebanese cities such as Tyre, Sidon and Tripoli. “We have agreement for a naval corridor for assistance to Beirut. In principle, we also have an agreement to establish sea routes on a regular basis into Tyre, Sidon and Tripoli.” However, the agreements appear to be limited. “I don’t know when Israel will lift the blockade on Lebanon,” Egeland said. Read more about Some agreements on aid into Lebanon
Deploring the “horrendous and dangerous” situation in Lebanon, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today proposed a three-part strategy involving an immediate cessation of hostilities and wide-ranging political and economic commitments to solve a crisis that has killed hundreds of people and forced around 800,000 others to flee their homes. “A cessation of hostilities, a political framework, the deployment of an international force, and agreement on a reconstruction programme would give us the beginnings of a way out of this crisis,” he told delegates at a high-level conference in Rome called to discuss the worsening situation. Read more about Annan recommends three-pronged solution to the 'horrendous' situation in Lebanon
The United Nations Staff Council’s Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service said today that the increased attacks directed against United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) personnel, which led to the death of four United Nations military observers yesterday, are unacceptable. The Committee strongly protests these actions and their tragic consequences. The Committee calls on the Secretary-General to suspend UNIFIL operations and pull back its personnel from hazardous positions, until such time as the security situation improves andl to launch an immediate and full investigation of the incident. Read more about United Nations Staff Council protests attacks on Lebanon mission, calls for full investigation of events
Following yesterday’s killings of three United Nations peacekeepers - and possibly a fourth - during an air attack in south Lebanon, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today accepted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s expression of “deep sorrow” and suggested a joint investigation into the incident. Speaking to journalists in Rome, where he is meeting with world leaders on the crisis, Mr. Annan said that Mr. Olmert believes that the bombing was a mistake. The Secretary-General emphasized that in his own statement he had used the word “apparent” in relation to whether Israeli forces deliberately targeted the attack on the Khiyam base of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Read more about Secretary-General proposes joint UN-Israeli inquiry into Lebanon peacekeeper deaths
Heavy exchanges of fire continued along the length of the Blue Line in the last 24 hours, with a major concentration in the western sector. Hezbollah fired rockets from various locations, and the IDF continued the shelling and aerial bombardment. Yesterday and during last night, the IDF moved significant reinforcements, including a number of tanks, armored personnel carriers, bulldozers and infantry, to the area of Marun Al Ras inside Lebanese territory. The IDF advanced from that area north toward Bint Jubayl, and south towards Yarun. Read more about UNIFIL: IDF advancing further north
