Keir Starmer steps up call for a ceasefire in Lebanon at UN
Sir Keir Starmer has stepped up his call for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon following an escalation in fighting between Israel and the armed group Hezbollah.
“Stop the violence. Step back from the brink,” the prime minister said in his maiden speech to the UN General Assembly, despite Israeli ministers’ rejection of an international proposal for a temporary pause in fighting.
Sir Keir told world leaders a ceasefire would provide space for a diplomatic settlement to avoid a regional conflict in the Middle East.
Fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah are at a high, following the deadliest escalation of cross-border attacks in decades.
More than 600 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon since Monday, including at least 92 people on Thursday, according to local authorities.
Hezbollah has responded by firing hundreds of rockets into northern Israel.
The soaring tensions prompted a 12-strong bloc – including the UK, US and other allies – to propose a three-week ceasefire, which has been broadly rejected by Israeli politicians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the country’s military to continue fighting against Hezbollah with “full force” as he landed in New York on Thursday.
Addressing the UN General Assembly there, Sir Keir said an immediate ceasefire was needed “to provide space for a diplomatic settlement”.
He warned that the conflict could spill over into a war “no-one can control and with consequences that none of us can foresee”.
Sir Keir also promised to return the UK to “responsible global leadership” by recommitting to “the UN, to internationalism, to the rule of law”.
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