European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged Israel to support a proposed ceasefire in Lebanon.
Speaking at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Italy, Borrell said the proposal brokered by the US and France guarantees Israel all the security commitments it has requested. Therefore, Borrell said there is no reason to reject the agreement with Hezbollah, and hopes the Israeli government will accept the agreement today.
Meanwhile, at a meeting with the United Nations (UN) Special Coordinator in Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on the same day, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country demands the UN effectively implement the upcoming ceasefire agreement with Lebanon and affirmed that there will be "zero tolerance" for any violations. Mr. Katz stressed that any house in South Lebanon that is rebuilt and set up as a Hezbollah base "will be destroyed". He affirmed that Israel will prevent any attempt to trade or use weapons and immediately eliminate the threat to its forces or citizens.
On the same day, Mr. Jeremy Laurence, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, expressed "extreme concern" about the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and expressed his hope that the parties involved would reach a lasting ceasefire there as well as in the Gaza Strip. Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Mr. Laurence affirmed: "The only way to end the suffering of people on all sides is an immediate and lasting ceasefire on all fronts in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza."