Lebanon to file complaint against Israel at UNSC after deadly Beirut strike
Three civilians, including a woman and two children, were killed in the strike on the Lebanese capital
Lebanon’s caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makary said on 31 July following an urgent session of the country’s cabinet that Beirut will file a complaint at the UN Security Council over Israel’s escalatory strike on a residential building in the capital’s southern suburbs the night before.
“We do not want war,” Makary said after the cabinet meeting. “The government efforts focus on diplomacy and a governmental plan is ready should a massive displacement take place in Lebanon.”
The minister added that “government meetings will remain open.”
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the deadly attack on Beirut during the cabinet session and warned that the situation could deteriorate if Israel continues its “reckless and murderous criminal madness.”
“We fear the situation will worsen if the concerned countries and the international community do not rush to stop this dangerous chaos,” Mikati said, according to a statement from the Council of Ministers.
He urged all countries to urge Israel into accepting a ceasefire in Gaza and properly implement Resolution 1701 – an agreement reached at the end of the 2006 war which called on Hezbollah’s withdrawal to behind the Litani river and for Israel’s withdrawal from certain areas on the border.
“My appeal to the Lebanese is for us all to stand together and be able to prove our unity and confirm our solidarity with our people and our rejection of any aggression that affects any region of Lebanon,” Mikati added. “We will remain in constant contact with Lebanon’s friends and Arab brothers to prevent the escalation of the situation, which will have major repercussions.”
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which operates in southern Lebanon, has not officially commented on the Israeli strike.
A UNIFIL spokesman told Al Jazeera the night of the strike, “We are following what is happening and we have no comment on the incident targeting the southern suburb.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday after the strike on Beirut that he does not believe a regional war is “inevitable,” and added: “If Israel is attacked, yes, we will help Israel defend itself. We’ve been clear about that from the very beginning. But again, we don’t want to see that happen.”
The Israeli strike targeted a residential building in Beirut’s southern suburbs, in the Haret Hreik neighborhood.
Three civilians, a woman and two children, were killed in the attack, and around 70 were injured.
The target was Fuad Shukr, top military advisor to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the director of the entirety of the resistance group’s military operations.
“As it has become known, the Zionist enemy attacked the southern suburb of Beirut yesterday, Tuesday, 07/30/2024, targeting a residential building in one of its neighborhoods, which led to the death of a number of citizens, the wounding of others, and major destruction to a number of floors of the building,” Hezbollah said on Wednesday “The great jihadist leader, Brother Mr Fuad Shukr (Hajj Mohsen), was present in this building at the time.”
“Since the incident occurred, civil defense teams have been working diligently, but slowly, to remove the rubble due to the state of the destroyed layers, and we are still waiting for the result that those involved in this operation will reach regarding the fate of the great and dear leader and other citizens in this place, so that something can be built upon as required,” it added.
A Hezbollah official told Al Jazeera hours before the attack that the Lebanese resistance is fully prepared to respond to any Israeli attack.