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The Lebanese diplomat asks the international community for assistance to his country

The Lebanese diplomat asks the international community for assistance to his country

Lebanon’s ambassador to Japan has appealed for support from the country and the rest of the world, saying his nation is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

Nidal Yehya spoke at the National Press Club of Japan on Friday, about a month after the Israeli military began a ground operation against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon in late September.

The ambassador said that “the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon has reached unprecedented proportions since the start of hostilities.”

The death toll in the country has risen to about 2,800 since fighting began last October between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite Muslim group affiliated with the Islamic group Hamas.
The ambassador said that the number of displaced people in the country has reached 1.4 million, or 25% of the country’s population.

He also said his country has been facing a serious economic crisis since it went into default in March 2020 after years of fiscal and trade deficits.

Yehya added that Israeli forces are destroying most of the country’s infrastructure and what he calls a “massacre” of its people.

He called for international assistance, saying that after a ceasefire, Lebanon would need “the greatest strength to rebuild the country”.

The ambassador also cited a 2006 UN Security Council resolution calling for “an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.”

He said Israel’s full compliance with the resolution was crucial for regional stability because it “remains a diplomatic tool to stop the escalation of violence.”

Yehya called on Japan, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, to urge Israel to fully comply with the measure.