Minister for the Middle East Hamish Nicholas Falconer delivered the UK’s position as the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon continues to worsen. ..reports Asian Lite News
The government renewed its call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah during the Lebanon Support Conference held in Paris on Thursday.
Minister for the Middle East Hamish Nicholas Falconer delivered the UK’s position as the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon continues to worsen. “The situation in Lebanon is worsening daily, and civilian casualties are mounting,” Falconer said, highlighting the importance of swift action. “The risks of further escalation cannot be overstated. We cannot let Lebanon become another Gaza.”
Falconer reaffirmed the UK’s support for Israel’s right to self-defense, citing Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on northern Israel as the origin of the conflict. “Let us not forget that this conflict started when Hezbollah launched rockets at northern Israel, forcing the Israelis to flee their homes,” he added.
The minister also called on Iran to halt its involvement in the region, urging Tehran to “immediately halt those attacks, and stand down its proxies.” The UK pledged £15 million ($19.4 million) to support Lebanon’s humanitarian needs, including food, medicine and clean water, with an additional £10 million to match public donations made through the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region.
“We are working with the Lebanese Armed Forces, the sole legitimate defender of that state, to support security and stability,” Falconer said. He was accompanied by Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, a senior UK military officer leading efforts to support Lebanon’s defense forces. Smyth added that British forces stand “ready to do more.”
The government also called for the protection of aid workers, particularly those working with the UN, and condemned threats to the safety of UN peacekeepers in the region. “The aid workers striving to alleviate suffering in Lebanon must be able to carry out their duties in safety — including UN workers, who have a vital role to play in resolving armed conflict and mitigating its impact,” Falconer said.
He also reiterated the UK’s stance on a political resolution to the conflict, calling for a solution in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which aims to secure long-term peace on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border. “A political solution (consistent with 1701) is the only answer — and the only way to secure a stable future for those on both sides of the Blue Line,” he said.
PM unlikely to meet Harris before US election
Keir Starmer’s hopes of meeting Kamala Harris before the US presidential election have faded, Downing Street has said. The prime minister said last month he aimed to meet both presidential candidates before American voters go to the polls on 5 November.
He told reporters who had travelled with him to New York that it would be “very good to meet both [Trump and Harris] at some stage” before the US election. “We’ll just have to see what’s possible,” he said.
Starmer did secure a meeting with Donald Trump while in New York for the UN general assembly in September. He and the former US president had a two-hour dinner, where they were joined by David Lammy, the foreign secretary. A government source said on Thursday that hopes of arranging a meeting between Starmer and Harris had faded. “We’re obviously a number of days out from the campaign and I suspect both candidates are focused on the election,” they said.
With less than two weeks to go before the poll, Harris and Trump are touring battleground states. Trump has sought to weaponise the links between Labour and the Democratic party in the final stages of the campaign.
In a strongly worded legal complaint filed on Wednesday night, Trump’s campaign accused the “far-left” Labour party of “blatant foreign interference” in the US election. The letter claimed that volunteering efforts by Labour officials travelling to the US to support Harris and reports of contact between Labour figures and officials on her campaign amounted to “illegal foreign national contributions”.
Downing Street has said any Labour officials who campaign for Harris in the election were doing so as volunteers and were not being reimbursed by the party. Starmer said he had a “good relationship” with Trump that would not be jeopardised by the complaint.
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