UN official says Mideast conflict alarming of all-out war

UN Undersecretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said that the conflict in Lebanon, the intensified strikes in Syria, and the raging violence in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, point to an all-out war. DiCarlo's remark came Thursday during her briefing to the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East. "The parties must seize the diplomatic options put on the table before them, not the weapons by their side, and commit to a return to a cessation of hostilities, and the full implementation of Security Council resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1701 (2006)," DiCarlo said. She stressed that humanitarian and UN personnel, medical workers, and journalists must not be targeted. "We need to invest every effort to reverse this cycle of violence and bring Lebanon, Israel, and the region back from the brink of catastrophe," she added. She urged Lebanon's political leaders to take resolute steps towards addressing the vacuum as the political impasse for the election of a pr esident is approaching two years. For his part, Undersecretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said that "the safety and security of peacekeepers is now increasingly in jeopardy." He added that operations of UN Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon have been halted since last September, coinciding with the Israeli occupation's escalation against Hezbollah in Lebanon. "Peacekeepers have been confined to their bases with significant periods of time in shelter," he pointed out. He said that the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of peacekeepers lies with the actors on the ground. Since October of last year, Lebanon has witnessed military confrontations, which escalated on September 23, as the Israeli occupation has been launching airstrikes on different areas in Lebanon, causing heavy casualties and damage. Source: Kuwait News Agency