Pope Francis expressed on Sunday September 29 from Brussels his “pain” faced with the widening conflict in the Middle East and called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon “martyred”. “I continue to follow with pain and concern the widening and intensification of the conflict in Lebanon”he declared at the end of a mass at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels, the day after the announcement of the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli strike. “Lebanon is a message but right now it is a martyred message, and this war is having devastating effects on the population. Too many people continue to die day after day in the Middle East,” he continued. Follow our live stream.
Israeli army says it killed new Hezbollah commander in strike. “The commander of Hezbollah’s preventive security unit and member of its executive council, Nabil Qouk, was eliminated”writes the army in a press release. This statement comes as the army announced on Sunday that it had carried out “dozens” raids against Hezbollah in Lebanon targeting rocket launch sites towards Israel, military installations and weapons depots.
China says it is “deeply concerned” about the situation in the Middle East. “China is following this matter with great attention. (…) and urges the parties involved, in particular Israel, to take immediate measures to calm the situation and prevent the conflict from spreading further or even spiraling out of control.”explains a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a press release on Sunday.
The number of displaced people in Lebanon could reach a million. Close “of a million people” could have been displaced by Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said at a press conference. “This could be the largest population displacement in the country’s history,” he also said.
Benjamin Netanyahu considers that Israel has “settled its scores”. “Nasrallah was not a terrorist like the others. He was the terrorist, he was the pivot of the axis, the central engine of the Iranian axis of evil,” declared the Prime Minister after the announcement of the death of the leader of Hezbollah in an Israeli strike. The leader mentioned “a historic turning point” for Israel in the fight against its “enemies”. Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, said the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah would lead to the “destruction” of Israel. Iran also requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Joe Biden presses for a “ceasefire”. The American president called for a truce after another day of Israeli strikes against Hezbollah. He presented the death of Hassan Nasrallah as “a measure of justice for its many victims, including thousands of American, Israeli and Lebanese civilians.” France, for its part, asked Israel to stop its strikes on Lebanon, and said it was opposed to a ground operation.