NEW YORK: The U.N. Secretary-General, António Guterres, sounded a stark alarm before world leaders, cautioning that Lebanon teeters “on the brink” of disaster, with the real danger of becoming “another Gaza.” This comes amid intensifying clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, coinciding with U.S. President Joe Biden’s anticipated appearance at the U.N.’s pivotal annual event.
The gathering, attended by numerous world leaders, witnessed heightened urgency as Lebanese officials reported that Israeli airstrikes had claimed 558 lives, including 50 children. “We must all be deeply concerned by this escalation. Lebanon is at the brink,” Guterres reiterated.
As leaders convened in Manhattan for this significant diplomatic occasion, France, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, called for an emergency meeting to address the mounting crisis in the Middle East.
With the death toll in Lebanon rising, international attention began shifting from Gaza to Lebanon. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, echoed widespread concerns, stating, “We are almost at the threshold of a full-blown war.” The United States, Israel’s closest ally, once more cautioned against an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon, with a senior U.S. official vowing to present tangible proposals for de-escalation during the U.N. session.
Efforts to reduce the intensity of the conflict in Lebanon appear frail, as attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, under heavy Israeli bombardment since October 2023, have yielded no success. Richard Gowan, of the International Crisis Group, remarked that many leaders will warn that the U.N.’s relevance on the global stage will suffer if it fails to mediate peace effectively.
More than 100 heads of state and government are expected to address the General Assembly, which continues until Monday.
‘Situation Out of Control’
Since the last annual U.N. gathering, where Sudan’s civil war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominated discussions, global challenges have multiplied.
“Global issues are advancing faster than our ability to address them,” Guterres noted ahead of this year’s event. The October 7 assault by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent violence across the Middle East have further deepened divisions within the global community.
With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas scheduled to speak later this week, there is potential for highly charged moments at the assembly.
On Tuesday, leaders from Türkiye, Jordan, Qatar, Iran, and Algeria are set to call for a ceasefire in Gaza after nearly a year of sustained conflict.
Ukraine also remains a priority, with President Volodymyr Zelensky set to address the U.N. Security Council on Russia’s ongoing aggression against his country. “I urge all nations to support our collective pursuit of a just and peaceful future,” Zelensky said during his Monday address to the U.N. “Putin may have stolen much, but he cannot rob the world of its future.”
Diplomacy Behind the Curtain
While the summit provides a public forum for leaders, much of the substantive diplomatic efforts to ease tensions are likely to unfold behind closed doors. Richard Gowan believes the gathering could offer Western and Arab diplomats an opportunity to engage quietly with Iran to prevent the regional conflict from spiraling further out of control.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has already called for an emergency meeting of Arab leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. assembly to discuss the deepening crisis in Lebanon. Guterres reiterated his caution that Lebanon could easily be “transformed into another Gaza” if urgent diplomatic measures are not undertaken.
