After UN vote, Lebanon’s PM calls for pressure on Israel to stop attacks on the south

CAIRO (Reuters) – Lebanon’s acting prime minister, Najib Mikati, said on Monday that countries should pressure Israel to stop attacks on Lebanon after the U.N. Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli forces and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have been exchanging fire along the southern Lebanese border in parallel to the Gaza war. Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the UN vote.

In a statement shared by his office, Mikati welcomed the move, saying it was “the first step on the path to stopping Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip”.

“When it comes to Lebanon, we reiterate our call on the countries concerned to exert pressure to stop the Israeli enemy’s continued aggression against southern Lebanon,” the statement said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that Israel cannot stop its war on Hamas while there are still hostages in Gaza.

Mikati told Reuters in February that a ceasefire in Gaza would trigger indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel to stop hostilities on the southern border and delineate the disputed border between the two countries.

Hezbollah has also said it will stop firing into Israel if a Gaza ceasefire is reached. However, Israeli and US officials have said that the ceasefire in Gaza will not automatically extend to Lebanon.

(Reporting by Maya Gebley; Editing by Michael Georgi and Alison Williams)

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