CAIRO: Egypt on Tuesday condemned the escalation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and the killing and wounding of hundreds of Lebanese citizens, including women and children.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed “sincere solidarity” with the Lebanese people, offered its sympathies to the families of victims, wished the injured a speedy recovery, and affirmed its “categorical rejection of any violations of the sovereignty of Lebanon and its territories.”
It previously warned of the “gravity of the continued Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and the danger of its expansion, which puts the region at risk of sliding into a full-fledged regional war.”
The ministry said that while “Egypt continues its efforts toward achieving a ceasefire in Gaza and containing the dangers resulting from the war there, it calls on world powers and the UN Security Council to immediately intervene to halt the Israeli escalation in the region, which jeopardizes the fate of its peoples and undermines prospects for peace.”
Egypt “calls for a peaceful settlement of the crisis, an immediate deescalation and the start of the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, with no selectivity and allowing for diplomatic solutions, especially since military escalation will only exacerbate the crisis,” it added.
Resolution 1701 was adopted in 2006 with the aim of resolving the war that year between Israel and Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, the Arab League’s secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, also “vehemently condemned the extensive Israeli raids and military operations against Lebanon, which have resulted in a significant loss of life and thousands of injuries.”
He warned that this “alarming escalation constitutes a flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and poses a grave threat to regional stability, with the potential to ignite a broader conflict that would have devastating consequences for all involved,” said Gamal Roshdy, a spokesperson for the organization.
Aboul Gheit called on the international community to act with urgency and shoulder its responsibilities in efforts to halt this “perilous slide toward a regional war, driven by the Israeli leadership's personal and political ambitions.”
In particular, he urged the UN Security Council to fulfill its duty to safeguard international peace and security by taking immediate action.
He said the current escalation must be halted without delay, warned that the devastation seen in Gaza must not be repeated in Lebanon, and reaffirmed the Arab League’s “unwavering solidarity with Lebanon in the face of these egregious Israeli assaults.”
