Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and six other countries on Tuesday condemned the killings of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, calling for "an urgent end to hostilities" in the country where Israeli attacks have killed over 2,000 people since March.
"Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Sierra Leone, Switzerland and the United Kingdom remain deeply concerned by the deteriorating humanitarian situation and displacement crisis in Lebanon.", the countries said in a joint statement without directly mentioning US ally Israel or the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.
The statement follows the deaths of three Indonesian peacekeepers last month. The UN has said preliminary findings from its investigation showed one was killed by an Israeli tank shell and two others by an improvised explosive device, most likely planted by Hezbollah.
Israel intensified airstrikes on Lebanon after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel on March 2, three days after the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Since then, Israel has expanded a ground invasion into southern Lebanon, ordering hundreds of thousands of Lebanese to flee their villages. The Israeli offensive has killed more than 2,000 people and forced 1.2 million from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities.
Hezbollah's rocket fire has mainly targeted towns near Israel's northern border, but has also hit major cities. Israel says two Israelis and 13 soldiers have been killed since March 2, writes Reuters.
"We condemn in the strongest terms the actions that have killed UN peacekeepers and significantly increased the risks facing humanitarian personnel in southern Lebanon," the 10 countries said in the joint statement, which mentioned Israel only in the context of the US ceasefire and Israel's war against Iran.
“We welcome the ceasefire agreed upon between the United States, Israel, and Iran. We call for an urgent end to hostilities in Lebanon.”
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with attacks on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. The US-Israeli attacks on Iran have killed thousands and displaced millions. A fragile two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran still has a week to go.
