International backlash is mounting over Israel’s massive strikes across Lebanon Wednesday, which killed 182 people and wounded 890 others, and threatened to upend the uneasy ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran.
Pakistan, which condemned the attack, has maintained that Lebanon is included in the ceasefire deal it helped broker between the US, Israel and Iran. However, the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have said the truce does not apply to operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron condemned what he described as “indiscriminate” strikes by Israel on Lebanon, which he said “pose a direct threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire.”
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Israel’s attacks on Lebanon were “deeply damaging” and Britain wants to “see Lebanon included in the ceasefire” in an interview with Times Radio on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “contempt for life and international law is intolerable.” He also called for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he called Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun to express solidarity for the “unjustified and unacceptable attacks.” Tajani said he summoned the Israeli ambassador, adding: “We want to avoid there being a second Gaza.”
The Italian embassy in Beirut said “hitting densely populated areas and sowing death among civilians” is a violation of “every principle of international humanitarian law.”
Qatar’s foreign ministry condemned the “heinous” strikes and called on the international community to compel Israel to “halt their brutal massacres.”
Turkey’s foreign ministry denounced the strikes “in the strongest terms” and accused Netanyahu’s government of undermining “international efforts aimed at establishing peace and stability.”
Criticism has also poured in from the United Nations and NGOs.
The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres “unequivocally” condemned the strikes and called for an end to the hostilities, which he said “pose a grave risk to the ceasefire,” in a statement from a spokesperson Wednesday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was “outraged” by the death and destruction in densely populated areas across Lebanon.
Mohammed Tawfeeq, Diego Mendoza, Michael Rios and Noemi Cassanelli contributed reporting.
