BEIRUT, Lebanon: The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to the Lebanese capital for talks.
Since September 23, Israel has intensified its air campaign in Lebanon, later sending in ground troops following nearly a year of limited exchanges of fire with Hezbollah.
“We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,” Borrell said after meeting Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of Hezbollah.
Resolution 1701 ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006 and stated that Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces in the country’s south, where Hezbollah holds sway.
It also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon.
“Back in September I came and was still hoping we could prevent a full-fledged war of Israel attacking Lebanon,” Borrell said on Sunday.
“Two months later Lebanon is on the brink of collapse.”
France and Washington have been spearheading ceasefire efforts, with US envoy Amos Hochstein visiting Lebanon and Israel this week to discuss a truce plan based on implementing Resolution 1701.
“We must pressure the Israeli government and maintain the pressure on Hezbollah to accept the US proposal for a ceasefire,” Borrell said, calling for an “immediate” truce.
READ ALSO: Over 55 Killed in Israeli Strikes in Lebanon
On Sunday, an Israeli strike on a Lebanese army centre killed one soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said.
Hezbollah meanwhile fired barrages of rockets into northern and central Israel, wounding at least five people, AFP reported.
Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon’s military has largely kept to the sidelines.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.
Meanwhile, the UN special envoy for Syria said on Sunday that it was “extremely critical” to end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza to avoid the country being pulled into a regional war.
“We need now to make sure that we have immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, that we have a ceasefire in Lebanon, and that we avoid Syria being dragged even further into the conflict,” said Geir Pedersen ahead of a meeting with the Syrian foreign minister in Damascus.
“We agree that it is extremely critical that we de-escalate so that Syria is not further dragged into this,” he said.
The Israeli military has intensified its strikes on Syria since its conflict with Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon escalated into full-scale war in late September after almost a year of cross-border hostilities.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Israeli strikes on the city of Palmyra earlier in the week killed 105 people.
