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STORY: UN / LEBANON UPDATE
TRT: 03:29
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 04 MARCH 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
04 MARCH 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric walks up to press conference podium
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The Secretary-General continues to be very concerned about the situation in Lebanon, where the Lebanese people are once again in the crosshairs of a conflict. He's particularly concerned about the impact of the hostilities on the civilian population.”
5. Med shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Today, widespread Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon, Baalbek, Chouf and the southern suburbs of Beirut, causing further casualties and significant destruction. Yesterday, three paramedics were killed and six injured while responding to an airstrike in Lebanon. In southern Lebanon, our peacekeeping colleagues at UNIFIL tell us of continued exchanges of fire across the Blue Line, including Hezbollah’s rocket fire towards Israel and the Israel Defence Forces’ airstrikes and extensive fire north of the Blue Line. Peacekeepers have observed Israel Defence Forces vehicles moving north of the Blue Line at several locations reaching up to one kilometre beyond the Blue Line and firing towards the surroundings. We also note with serious concern the IDF statement calling for evacuation of residents of South Lebanon to north of the Litani River.”
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Civilians are continuing to flee in Lebanon, often with little more than the clothes they are wearing and what they can carry. Since the onset of hostilities, at least 80,000 people have sought refuge in collective shelters in Lebanon. That is what local authorities are telling us. However, we believe this represents only a fraction of all people who have been forced to flee. Our partners are working closely with national and local authorities. Rapid response teams are assessing needs and distributing emergency supplies in affected areas and collective shelters. So far, our partners working in food security have reached more than 20,000 displaced people with hot meals and over 15,000 with ready-to-eat food across Lebanon.”
9. Med shot, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“All UNIFIL positions remain manned and remain in place along the Blue Line. The Mission’s operational activities prioritize monitoring and logistical movements, including resupply. UNIFIL continues to assess the situation to ensure the safety and security of the personnel. International law is not a mystery. We talk about it every day. It is not a secret. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times by all parties to a conflict. As we have said before, we very much welcome the decision by Government of Lebanon earlier this week to accelerate efforts toward asserting the state’s monopoly of armes across Lebanon. It is imperative that Hezbollah respect the Government’s decision, as well as Security Council resolution 1701. We also call once again on Israel to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, as well as Security Council resolution 1701.”
11. Med shot, journalists
12. Wide shot, end of presser
Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern about the impact of hostilities on the civilian population in Lebanon, “where the Lebanese people are once again in the crosshairs of a conflict,” his spokesperson said today (4 Mar).
50 people have been killed and hundreds more have been injured in the past two days in Lebanon according to local.
The spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, told journalists in New York that “widespread Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon, Baalbek, Chouf and the southern suburbs of Beirut, causing further casualties and significant destruction,” while on Tuesday, he said, “three paramedics were killed and six injured while responding to an airstrike.”
In southern Lebanon, Dujarric continued, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported “continued exchanges of fire across the Blue Line, including Hezbollah’s rocket fire towards Israel and the Israel Defence Forces’ airstrikes and extensive fire north of the Blue Line.”
Peacekeepers, he said, “have observed Israel Defence Forces vehicles moving north of the Blue Line at several locations reaching up to one kilometre beyond the Blue Line and firing towards the surroundings.”
The spokesperson expressed “serious concern” at the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) statement calling for evacuation of residents of South Lebanon to north of the Litani River.
The area south of the Litani River, approximately 850 square kilometres, is home to hundreds of thousands of people.
Dujarric said, “civilians are continuing to flee in Lebanon, often with little more than the clothes they are wearing and what they can carry. Since the onset of hostilities, at least 80,000 people have sought refuge in collective shelters in Lebanon. That is what local authorities are telling us. However, we believe this represents only a fraction of all people who have been forced to flee. Our partners are working closely with national and local authorities. Rapid response teams are assessing needs and distributing emergency supplies in affected areas and collective shelters. So far, our partners working in food security have reached more than 20,000 displaced people with hot meals and over 15,000 with ready-to-eat food across Lebanon.”
The spokesperson stressed that UNIFIL positions “remain manned and remain in place along the Blue Line” as the Mission’s operational activities “prioritize monitoring and logistical movements, including resupply.”
He said, “civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times by all parties to a conflict,” and welcomed the decision by Government of Lebanon “to accelerate efforts toward asserting the state’s monopoly of armes across Lebanon.”
Dujarric said it was “imperative that Hezbollah respect the Government’s decision, as well as Security Council resolution 1701” and called “once again on Israel to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, as well as Security Council resolution 1701.”
