Lebanon's president urges immediate UN action after Israeli strikes

Lebanese President Michel Aoun called on the United Nations on Friday to respond to Israel’s violations of Lebanese airspace, the presidency’s office said, amid heightened tensions along the border. 

On Aug. 5, the Israeli forces claimed its warplanes targeted rocket launch sites in southern Lebanon after two rockets were fired toward the occupied territories. The airstrikes were followed by two Israeli air raids near the town of Mahmudiya, Lebanese media reported. 

During a meeting at Baabda Palace, Aoun told the UN’s Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka that the Israeli strikes breached Lebanon’s sovereignty. He also said they were a violation of UN Resolution 1701, which halted the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement. 

"This requires swift action by the United Nations to ensure that such acts are put to a halt and never happen again," Aoun said, according to Lebanon’s MTV. 
 

"Tensions witnessed in the south on Aug. 5 and the airstrikes Israeli warplanes launched on southern villages for the first time since 2006 have agitated the security situation following the repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which led to filing a complaint before the UN," he said. 

Stefano Del Col, head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, echoed Aoun, tweeting that overflights of Lebanese territory by Israeli fighter aircraft are violations of both Lebanon’s sovereignty and Resolution 1701. 

“I again call on the [Israel Defense Forces] to desist from such actions, which undermine UNIFIL efforts to contain tensions and build confidence among the local population,” Del Col said.