Lebanon files UN complaint against Israel over airspace violations

By Wassim Saifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) - Lebanon lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel on Monday after its warplanes breached the sound barrier over several areas, including the capital Beirut.

A Foreign Ministry statement said the complaint addresses the violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli warplanes, including the breach of the sound barrier over Beirut.

The Lebanese complaint condemned the Israeli violations as “a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and of Security Council Resolution 1701 issued in 2006.”

These actions are “contrary to international humanitarian law, which prohibits collective punishment and psychological intimidation, particularly practices aimed at spreading terror among civilians, thus increasing the suffering of the most vulnerable groups, such as children,” the ministry said.

Israeli warplanes breach the sound barrier over several areas in Lebanon almost daily, creating a loud noise similar to that of bomb explosions, causing panic among residents.

Fears of a full-fledged war between Israel and Hezbollah have grown amid an exchange of cross-border attacks, especially after the July 30 assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed over 40,100 people since last October following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul