UPDATE - EU foreign policy chief urges immediate cease-fire in Lebanon amid rising civilian displacement

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY JOSEP BORRELL, ADDS BACKGROUND

By Merve Berker

The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday stressed the urgent need for a cease-fire in Lebanon, highlighting that 20% of the population has been displaced due to intensified bombings by Israel and escalating conflict across the region.

Speaking at the European Parliament, Borrell underscored the dire situation at the Gaza border and its impact on Lebanon, where Hezbollah's rocket attacks and Israel's military response have escalated tensions.

"The bombings are incredibly strong, and towns centers are being affected too," he said.

Borrell revealed that approximately 50,000 displaced Lebanese have fled to Syria, and estimated civilian casualties have already reached 2,000.

Along with France, the US, and several Arab states, the EU participated in international mediation efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions and achieving a cease-fire, calling for the implementation of the long-standing UN Resolution 1701, which was reiterated by the EU’s 27 member states on Sept. 27, he recalled.

“We thought that he (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) was on board,” Borrell said, warning that “the crisis has further spiraled and the bombings continue.”

He pointed to Hezbollah’s dual role in Lebanon as both a political entity and a military force, which complicates efforts to stabilize the country.

“Lebanon is unstable because within the state, there is another state, which is Hezbollah, a puppet of Iran,” Borrell added.

Borrell emphasized the importance of political reform in Lebanon, particularly the need to elect a president after two years of “gridlock.”

The EU has allocated €40 million ($43.9 million) in humanitarian aid, but Borrell warned that there has to be a strong political will and international support.

“Lebanon is grappling with a major political internal problem which needs to be solved by the Lebanese people,” the EU foreign policy chief said on the existence of Hezbollah in the country.

Lebanon has suffered from decades of institutional weakness, with the country’s elites bearing significant responsibility, he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized this point following the Beirut port explosion on Aug. 4, 2020, but no meaningful reforms have adopted since his visit, Borrell recalled.

Pointing out to how a “weak entity” the Lebanese army is in the face of Hezbollah, Borrell said: “Its military capacity doesn't make it possible to be a counterweight to Hezbollah, nor can the army ensure the territorial integrity of the country In the face of an attack from its neighbor, Israel.

“Without a strong compromise, without political reform within Lebanese society, led by the Lebanese people and agents, without all of that, nothing can happen.

“We know that in Israel there's 70,000 displaced persons, and on the Lebanese side, there's some 2 million.”

The EU foreign policy chief further underlined the need for a “timeline” for the bloc to set “for the funds that it promises.”

Israel has invaded Lebanon four times, yet many in Israel question whether these actions have actually improved the country's security, with the north now facing a worsened situation and Hezbollah growing stronger, he highlighted.

Borrell argued that further military interventions are unlikely to bring different results, as history shows that military solutions do not work in regions with deep-rooted problems and weak institutions, like the Middle East.

He emphasized that these factors must be carefully considered before taking any further action.

“Are we truly able to help Lebanon?" the official questioned.

“If the UN's forces are not strengthened it will be difficult to effect change in the region, and it will be difficult to prevent Lebanon from becoming another Gaza, especially if you look at the current intensity of the war,” he underlined.

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing more than 1,250 people, injuring 3,618 others, and displacing more than 1.2 million people.

The aerial campaign was an escalation in yearlong cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 42,000 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

At least 2,083 people have since been killed and 9,869 others injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.

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 by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.