Lebanon urges UN to condemn Israeli 'aggression'

BEIRUT

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil on Wednesday called on the UN to condemn "Israeli aggression", according to the official National News Agency.

Bassil held a meeting with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis during which he reviewed recent "Israeli attacks" in Lebanon. He demanded the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to consider that while renewing its mission in southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL is a multinational peacekeeping force that has been deployed in southern Lebanon since 1978. Its primary objective is to maintain security in the region and monitor a cessation-of-hostilities agreement.

Following the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah, UNIFIL was tasked with ensuring the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for a ceasefire between the warring sides and an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Bassil reiterated Lebanon's commitment to UN Security Council resolution 1701.

On Sunday, an Israeli drone fell and another exploded in the southern suburb of capital Beirut.

The following day, three explosions were heard at military posts of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) group in the Qousaya area in eastern Lebanon, with a Lebanese official accusing Israel of being behind the incidents.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat