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STORY: UN / LEBANON ISRAEL
TRT: O5:00
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 01 JUNE 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters
01 JUNE 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA), United Nations:
“The situation in Lebanon is deeply alarming, marked by Israeli ground troops pushing further north into Lebanese territory and intensified Hizbullah attacks reaching deeper into Israel. On 31 May, the Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces to ‘deepen and expand’ their control over areas previously held by Hizbullah, declaring the capture of the historic Beaufort castle. This followed Israeli advances north of the Litani river in the “Yohmor triangle.”
4. Med shot, Assistant Secretary-General, delegates
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA), United Nations:
“Israel has also escalated its air campaign in recent days striking what it describes as Hizbullah targets across southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley and the outskirts of Beirut. The Israel Defense Forces has issued sweeping “urgent warnings” ordering civilians to evacuate all areas south of the Zahrani River, including Nabitiyah and Tyre areas as well as three nearby Palestine refugee camps, effectively designating the entirety of southern Lebanon as a “combat zone.”
6. Med shot, Assistant Secretary-General, Israeli Ambassador
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA), United Nations:
“The Israel Defense Forces have expanded their presence north of the Blue Line, with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reporting extensive military activity, including airstrikes, artillery fire, logistics movements, and engineering works, throughout its area of operations.”
8. Med shot, Assistant Secretary-General, delegates
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA), United Nations:
“In recent days, Hizbullah has escalated its strikes, launching rockets, drones, and missiles increasingly deeper into Israeli territory. Hizbullah leaders have reiterated that the group will not disarm, defying the stated intention of the Government of Lebanon to assert a state monopoly over the use of force. Since 2 March, the surge in hostilities has exacted a devastating human toll.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA), United Nations:
“These hostilities are reverberating across the region. We note with concern today’s reported statements from Tehran that in response to the situation in Lebanon Iran will suspend dialogue with the United States, block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts, citing escalation in Lebanon. We must urgently redouble efforts to avert any further escalation.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA), United Nations:
“We call on countries in the region that maintain ties with Hizbullah to encourage the group to cooperate with Lebanese state efforts to achieve a monopoly on arms. We call on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory in full respect of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
14. Med shot, Assistant Secretary-General, delegates
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Arafa, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lebanon:
“The intentions of the Israeli Government are now as clear as ever. They are evident in the statements of its officials and their calls for the need to expend their aggression and occupy wider Lebanese territories. This is undoubtedly the result of a collective failure to generate solutions coupled with a lack of accountability which only fuels impunity. That, in turn, emboldens the perpetrators to commit the very same crime times and times again.”
16. Med shot, Lebanese Ambassador, delegates
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Danny Danon, Permanent Representative to the Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Israel:
“As long as Hezbollah threatens our citizens, Israel will act wherever necessary to defend them, south of the Litani, north of the Litani. If there is no quiet in northern Israel, there will be no quiet for Hezbollah. If our children are running to shelters, Hezbollah leadership will not enjoy safe haven, not in southern Lebanon, not in Beirut.”
18. Wide shot, Security Council
A top UN official said that the situation in Lebanon is deeply alarming, marked by Israeli ground troops pushing further north into Lebanese territory and intensified Hizbullah attacks reaching deeper into Israel.
Addressing the Security Council today (1 Jun), UN Assistant Secretary-General Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, reported, “on 31 May, the Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces to ‘deepen and expand’ their control over areas previously held by Hizbullah, declaring the capture of the historic Beaufort castle. This followed Israeli advances north of the Litani river in the “Yohmor triangle.”
She added, “Israel has also escalated its air campaign in recent days striking what it describes as Hizbullah targets across southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley and the outskirts of Beirut. The Israel Defense Forces has issued sweeping “urgent warnings” ordering civilians to evacuate all areas south of the Zahrani River, including Nabitiyah and Tyre areas as well as three nearby Palestine refugee camps, effectively designating the entirety of southern Lebanon as a “combat zone.”
She continued, “The Israel Defense Forces have expanded their presence north of the Blue Line, with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reporting extensive military activity, including airstrikes, artillery fire, logistics movements, and engineering works, throughout its area of operations.”
She also said, “In recent days, Hizbullah has escalated its strikes, launching rockets, drones, and missiles increasingly deeper into Israeli territory. Hizbullah leaders have reiterated that the group will not disarm, defying the stated intention of the Government of Lebanon to assert a state monopoly over the use of force. Since 2 March, the surge in hostilities has exacted a devastating human toll.”
She highlighted, “These hostilities are reverberating across the region. We note with concern today’s reported statements from Tehran that in response to the situation in Lebanon Iran will suspend dialogue with the United States, block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts, citing escalation in Lebanon. We must urgently redouble efforts to avert any further escalation.”
She then called on countries in the region “that maintain ties with Hizbullah to encourage the group to cooperate with Lebanese state efforts to achieve a monopoly on arms.”
She also called on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory “in full respect of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Ahmad Arafa, Lebanon's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said, “The intentions of the Israeli Government are now as clear as ever. They are evident in the statements of its officials and their calls for the need to expend their aggression and occupy wider Lebanese territories. This is undoubtedly the result of a collective failure to generate solutions coupled with a lack of accountability which only fuels impunity. That, in turn, emboldens the perpetrators to commit the very same crime times and times again.”
Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel, stated, “As long as Hezbollah threatens our citizens, Israel will act wherever necessary to defend them, south of the Litani, north of the Litani. If there is no quiet in northern Israel, there will be no quiet for Hezbollah. If our children are running to shelters, Hezbollah leadership will not enjoy safe haven, not in southern Lebanon, not in Beirut.”
