By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) – The Dutch prime minister on Thursday expressed "great concern" over the escalation in the Middle East and called for a cease-fire in Lebanon.
"I just spoke with Prime Minister @Najib_Mikati of Lebanon. I expressed my great concern about the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah and the enormous humanitarian suffering this is causing," Dick Schoof wrote on X.
Together with international partners, the Netherlands will continue to press for a diplomatic solution, he pledged.
"A ceasefire and full implementation of the relevant UN resolutions – including the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, such as Hezbollah – is necessary for the security and stability of the region," Schoof said, adding that "Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel must stop."
Earlier, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said its headquarters in Naqoura and several positions of its peacekeeping positions were repeatedly shelled by Israeli forces, injuring two troops.
Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,323 people, injuring over 3,700 others, and displacing more than 1.2 million people.
The aerial campaign was an escalation in a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed over 42,000 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.
Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.