The United Nations Security Council called an emergency session in the wake of Israel's deadly strikes on Lebanon's capital, Beirut, and the south.
What's new: The 15-nation council met on Friday amid fears of a regional war. U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric cautioned that the region is "on the brink of a catastrophe."'
What's next: Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.N. undersecretary general for political and peacebuilding affairs, urged all parties to use "maximum restraint" and said the "risk of further expansion of this cycle of violence is extremely serious, and poses a grave threat to the stability of Lebanon, Israel and the whole region" as the 11-month war in Gaza grinds on.
“We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far,” said DiCarlo.“Lebanese society, old and young, have been in profound shock and panic."
What's important: Exploding electronic pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah across Lebanon and parts of Syria killed several dozen people and injured thousands of others this week. The electronic device bombings are widely believed to have been orchestrated by Israel. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised to retaliate, raising fears of all-out war between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful armed force.
Who's involved: Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes along the Israel-Lebanon border since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas' surprise attack on Israel last October.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood urged the council to help restore peace but he also pointed at Iran for supporting Hezbollah and its acts to "undermine regional security."
Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Israel is responsible for a “systematic and provocative act of terror” in Lebanon that violates international law.
What experts say: U.N. human rights experts condemned the "malicious manipulation of thousands of electronic pagers and radios" to explode simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria as “terrifying” violations of international law.
The attacks reportedly killed at least 32 people and maimed or injured 3,250, including 200 critically, according to U.N. officials. Around 500 people suffered severe eye injuries, and others had serious injuries to their faces, hands and bodies.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described the attacks as a “new development in warfare" that is illegal.
"Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals," he said, "whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law."
