Foreign Sec calls for 'immediate ceasefire' in Lebanon after Israeli strikes blitz Beirut

28 September 2024, 21:16

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon - after Israel launched a series of devastating strikes upon Beirut.

In a post on X, the Foreign Secretary said: "I spoke today to Lebanese PM Najib Mikati and we agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed.

"A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people."

The intervention by Britain's most senior diplomat comes after a senior Unicef official said Lebanon is facing the prospect of a humanitarian "catastrophe" following airstrikes overnight.

Ettie Higgins, Unicef's deputy representative in Lebanon, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are seeing thousands and thousands of people leave the southern suburbs of Beirut towards safety or any area at all that can give them safety."

Describing children, of whom she said at least 50 had been killed, as "terrified" and hospitals as "completely overwhelmed with injured people", she said the supplies Unicef had positioned in the country in advance of the strikes by Israel were "virtually completely used up".

She added: "This week we have seen major water pumping stations destroyed, so urgent efforts are needed to get safe, clean drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people who are now looking for alternative sources of water.

"So even the most basic essential services of healthcare and water are now being rapidly, rapidly depleted. There was already a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon given that it's been hosting over 1 million refugees from Syria for over a decade, so it's rapidly escalating into a catastrophe."

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, 64, was the intended target of the overnight strikes according to the Israel Defence Force - as missiles hit the Iranian-backed group’s headquarters.

The official X account of the IDF announced the Hezbollah leader's death on Saturday.

A post read: "Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world."

An IDF statement said: "The IDF eliminated the so-called Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the terrorist organization Hezbollah.

"Yesterday, the IDF killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the terrorist organization Hezbollah and one of its founders.

"The IDF also killed Ali Karaki, the commander of the southern front in the terrorist organization Hezbollah, and a number of other Hezbollah leaders."

Hezbollah has confirmed their leader was killed in the strike.

A Hezbollah statement read: "The leadership of Hezbollah pledges to the highest, holiest, and most precious martyr in our path full of sacrifices and martyrs to continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, supporting Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people."

Iran's Supreme Leader has been transferred to a secure location in the wake of this news, Reuters reports.

The country has said it is in contact with its allies to determine "next steps" as tensions reach boiling point in the Middle East.

At least six people died in the strikes, with 91 people injured, reports from Lebanon say.

"The strike was conducted while Hezbollah's senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel," Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said in a media briefing on Saturday.

He continued: "We hope this will change Hezbollah's actions".