ISTANBUL

European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib on Monday called the recent killings of health workers and journalists in Lebanon amid Israeli strikes "unacceptable."

"The conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate. 10 health workers & 3 journalists were killed in Lebanon in the last 48 hours, victims of Israeli military operations. This is unacceptable," Lahbib wrote on US social media company X.

She urged respect for international humanitarian law and stressed that "a political solution is long overdue."

Israel has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in the south since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2. The region has been on alert since the US and Israel launched an air offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people so far, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and infrastructure damage while disrupting global markets and aviation.