Rania R.a. Abushamala
13 January 2024•Update: 14 January 2024
BEIRUT
Lebanon on Saturday expressed deep concern about military strikes by US-led allied forces in the Red Sea and Yemen, warning that if the international community fails to act immediately to halt armed actions in the region, Israel's war on Gaza could spread throughout the Middle East.
The country’s Foreign Ministry in a statement posted on its X account, “expressed grave concern about the escalation and military actions in the Red Sea, as well as airstrikes on Yemeni territory.”
The ministry stressed the importance of "reducing tensions, halting escalation, and using military action through the concerted efforts of the international and regional community to support stability in the region, including the security of maritime navigation in the Red Sea region."
The ministry warned that “failure to address the real causes of this escalation, the comprehensive and immediate cessation of Israeli aggression and the war on Gaza, may widen the circle which recently begun, threatening regional and international peace and security.”
The ministry reiterated that “a just and comprehensive peace for the Palestinian issue, based on international legitimacy resolutions, is alone capable of achieving security, stability, and prosperity for the countries of the Middle East and the Red Sea region.”
On Friday, the White House, in a joint statement from 10 countries, stated that “in response to continued illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi attacks against vessels, including commercial shipping, transiting the Red Sea, the armed forces of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain, and Australia, conducted joint strikes in accordance with the inherent right of individual and collective self-defense, consistent with the UN Charter, against a number of targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”
Despite the attacks, the Houthi group's Political Council reiterated in a statement that all American and British interests have become "legitimate targets" for its forces in response to their "direct and declared aggression" in Yemen.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala
