Lebanon to file complaint at UN Security Council over Israeli 'aggression'

BEIRUT

Lebanon intends to lodge an official complaint with the UN Security Council over the deliberate Israeli "aggression" that took place early Friday, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

The ministry said Israel had violated Lebanon’s sovereignty by bombing areas in southern Lebanon.

“Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Abdallah Bou Habib instructed the Permanent Mission of Lebanon to the United Nations in New York to submit an official complaint to the UN Security Council regarding the impact of the Israeli bombing and deliberate aggression at dawn today [Friday] in areas in southern Lebanon,” said a ministry statement.

It called the Israeli aggression “a flagrant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and a flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 … (that) threatens the stability that the Lebanese south used to enjoy.”

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 calls for a full cessation of hostilities and Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Early Friday, the Israeli military launched airstrikes in Lebanon hours after it struck the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, it said it struck targets belonging to the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army on Thursday said that at least 30 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward Israel.

So far, there has been no immediate claim of responsibility from any group in Lebanon.

The developments came after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem and forcibly removed Palestinian worshippers for two nights in a row.

*Ikram Kouachi contributed to this report