Israel is Not Above the Law, Must Be Held Accountable, Says Delegate
Amid growing fears of an all-out war in the Middle East following recent days' escalation and exchange of hostilities, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today reiterated his appeals for a ceasefire in Gaza, a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and an end to the violence in the region during another Security Council emergency meeting.
"The raging fires in the Middle East are fast becoming an inferno," warned the Secretary-General, who exactly one week ago briefed the 15-member organ about the alarming situation. Lamenting the escalating tensions along the Blue Line and repeated violations of Council resolution 1701 (2006), with "almost daily exchanges of fire by Hizbullah and other non-State armed groups in Lebanon and the Israel Defense Forces", he stressed that "Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected".
"I again strongly condemn yesterday's massive missile attack by Iran on Israel," he stressed, noting that such condemnation should have been obvious in the condemnation he expressed on 1 October. Pointing to the temporary ceasefire proposed by the United States and France to allow for the restart of negotiations, he said, "Israel refused that proposal and stepped up its strikes, including bombing the Hizbullah headquarters where its leader was killed" and conducting a "limited incursion" into southern Lebanon, while "Hizbullah has continued rocket and missile attacks on Israel".
"This deadly cycle of tit-for-tat violence must stop," he stressed. Underscoring that "civilians are paying a terrible price", with more than 1,700 killed and 364,000 displaced in Lebanon since October 2023, he urged the international community to fully fund the UN's humanitarian appeal. Recalling the "atrocious 7 October acts of terror by Hamas", he said: "Israel has conducted in Gaza the most deadly and destructive military campaign in my years as Secretary-General". As Israel continues its military operations, settlement construction, evictions and land grabs in the occupied West Bank, armed Palestinian groups and Hamas engage in violence, with the latter launching terror attacks that on 1 October killed seven Israelis in Jaffa, he added.
"It is high time for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the effective delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and irreversible progress to a two-State solution," he emphasized, urging also a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and "real action" towards full implementation of Council resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1701 (2006) to facilitate diplomatic efforts towards sustainable peace.
In the ensuing debate, speakers echoed the Secretary-General's grave concern about a war that could engulf the region and pleas for an end to the violence, with several Council members condemning Iran's ballistic missile attacks on 1 October against Israel and reiterating their steadfast support of Israel's right to self-defence.
Among them was the representative of France, who requested the meeting and stated that his country "has mobilized its military means in the Middle East to fend off the Iranian threat". He called on Iran to abstain from any action that could lead to further destabilization in the region and voiced opposition to any Israeli land aggression in Lebanon. Further, he urged the parties to consider the France-United States proposal to bring about a ceasefire towards a diplomatic resolution of the conflict.
Similarly, the United Kingdom's representative called on Iran and its allies to exercise restraint and "step away from the brink". She urged both Israel and Hamas to agree to "the ceasefire deal on the table" and called for implementation of a political plan in line with Council resolution 1701 (2006).
"This is the moment for this Council to speak out with one voice and condemn Iran for its unprovoked attack against another Member State and […] to impose serious consequences on the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] for its actions," stressed the representative of the United States, pointing to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' support of terrorism and disregard for many of the Council's resolutions. Affirming her country's support for Israel, she said: "Our actions have been defensive in nature. The Iran regime will be held responsible for its actions."
In a similar vein, Israel's representative said that Iran, in launching on 1 October the largest ballistic missile attack in history, relinquished any deniability and claimed full ownership over Hizbullah's actions. Recounting Hizbullah's crimes over time, including its targeting of fellow Muslims, he said: "Iran for years has armed terrorists in tyrannical regimes, and their weapons are responsible for the deaths of countless civilians across the globe."
He demanded immediate crippling sanctions on Iran and the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. Criticizing Council inaction over Israel's repeated warnings of the threat posed by Iran, he said that Tehran is "an enemy to all civilized nations". "Israel will defend itself; we will act. The consequences Iran will face for their actions will be far greater than they could have ever imagined," he warned.
Countering that assertion, Iran's representative said: "The apartheid and occupying regime of Israel has continued its brutality in occupied Palestine with full impunity - and now this regime is extending its aggressive war to Lebanon." Israel has no intention of pursuing peace or a ceasefire, while the United States, United Kingdom and certain Western States have "given a carte blanche to this aggressive terrorist regime for all sorts of sinister behaviour".
Iran's launch on 1 October of a series of missile strikes targeting the military and security positions of the Israeli regime was in full accordance with the inherent right to self-defence under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, he stressed, condemning Council inaction on flagrant breaches of Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Lebanon's representative supported that view, noting the Israeli forces and rows of battle tanks all along the southern borders of his country. The Israeli Government has ratified the ground invasion of Lebanon, which started on the evening of 1 October, following 11 months of barbaric aggression that spared no civilians, and thus its "claims of a limited surgical military operation" are untrue.
Representatives of other Arab States also took the floor to voice their dismay at Council inaction over the past year and reiterate their calls on the organ to stop Israel's aggression on Palestinians and States in the region.
"Israel is not above the law, and we must hold it accountable," emphasized Algeria's representative, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the end of Israeli occupation of Arab lands. The Council must adopt binding resolutions to ensure an immediate ceasefire as it did in other conflicts around the world - as its failure to fulfil its responsibility to maintain international peace and security opens the door for Israel to persist in its violations without any real deterrent, stressed Iraq's delegate, while Syria's representative pointed to the reluctance of the United States to "stop this Israeli madness".
Echoing Arab States' rebuke of Israel were the representatives of China and the Russian Federation, with the latter pointing out that Israel continued its brutal campaign in Gaza, despite overwhelming demands to stop it, as its American accomplices paralysed deliberations in the Security Council. On Israel's declaring of the UN Secretary-General as "persona non grata", he called on the Organization to respond to the "outrageous act", which he called "a slap on the United Nations and all of us".
The representative of Switzerland, Council President for October, speaking in her national capacity, voiced concern about the endangered lives of civilians. International humanitarian law must be respected by all parties in all circumstances and irrespective of the lawfulness of the use of force. This includes strict compliance with the principles relating to the conduct of hostilities, such as the distinction between civilians and combatants, proportionality, and precaution in attack, she added.
Guyana's delegate stressed that the safety and security of all UN and humanitarian personnel, including those attached to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), must be guaranteed. Guyana appeals for a renewed investment in peace over aggression.
Like the delegates of Mozambique and Japan, Malta's delegate warned that escalating hostilities are "only paving the way towards a bleak and desolate future for the entire region". "We cannot be silent in light of this deterioration," she stressed. Striking a similar tone, the delegate of the Republic of Korea called on the Council to "unite and act".
"It is now on us, the 15 seated at this table, to unite in our call for an all-out ceasefire," declared the representative of Slovenia. "We call on all countries and actors to show restraint. Everyone with influence must exert it," she added, a plea later echoed by Ecuador's delegate.
Similarly, Sierra Leone's delegate, warning that the "ping‑pong retaliatory attacks" in the Middle East can lead to "a mutually assured destruction", urged the Council to act decisively to halt the violence, enforce a ceasefire and work for the release of hostages and prisoners. He also called for an end to the occupation of Palestine and for the implementation of the two-State solution.
Italy's representative, answering the urgent call for diplomacy, said his country, also as Group of Seven rotating President, will continue to work for a diplomatic solution. With the brutal attacks perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October, the ensuing conflict in the Gaza Strip and the extremely worrisome situation in Lebanon originated by Hizbullah's continued attacks on Israel, "relaunching the political process has become more urgent than ever", he stressed.
