Kuwait’s diplomatic attaché Zeina al-Dalloum

NEW YORK, Oct 23, (Agencies): The State of Kuwait called on the international community to unify efforts to hold Israeli occupation accountable for its gruesome crimes committed in Palestine and Lebanon. Delivering the speech of Kuwait's permanent mission to the United Nations before the sixth political committee of legal affairs, Kuwait’s diplomatic attaché Zeina al-Dalloum stressed that Israeli crimes are genocide and crimes against humanity against Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.

The international community has been silent while Israeli occupation has been committing crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip for more than one year, Al-Dalloum said. The Israeli occupation also launched its brutal aggression on Lebanon, she said, expressing Kuwait’s condemnation of the Israeli occupation's continued ignorance of international legitimacy resolutions, which call for the full withdrawal from Palestinian territories. Israeli occupation forces violate Lebanon’s sovereignty and threaten its security through their brutal attacks that killed several civilians, she added. Al-Dalloum stressed the need to ensure Palestinians’ rights to self-determination, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on June 4, 1967 borders East Jerusalem as its capital, as a main step for maintaining international peace and security. Kuwait has been boosting justice and combating all forms of injustice, violence, and corruption, out of its belief in the rule of law, she stated.

She referred to Kuwait’s speech before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the legal impacts of Israeli occupation policies and practices on the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif. Kuwait affirmed that abiding by the rule of law on international and local levels is essential for sustainable development and economic growth, combating poverty and starvation as well as protecting human rights and freedom, she pointed out. Kuwait’s Constitution respects the rule of law and separation among authorities, she said. On empowering women, Al-Dalloum said Kuwait trusts women’s position and their key role in making decisions and raising the country’s status, internationally, pointing to women’s occupation in judicial, executive, and legislative authorities. Kuwait has been proceeding with digitization as it launched the “Sahel” app. to facilitate services.

Al-Dalloum emphasized Kuwait’s commitment to all laws and international charters that enhance the rule of law, on a basis of justice and equality. Elsewhere, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan explored on Wednesday with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken the latest developments in Gaza, Lebanon, and the region. This came in a meeting between the Saudi Foreign Minister and Blinken during his visit to Riyadh as part of the Middle East tour, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Both sides discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries, and efforts to achieve an end to the war in Palestine and Lebanon. Meanwhile, Israeli jets struck multiple buildings in Lebanon’s southern coastal city of Tyre on Wednesday, sending large clouds of black smoke into the air. The state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on the nearby town of Maarakeh killed three people. There were no reports of casualties in Tyre, where the Israeli military had issued evacuation warnings before the strikes.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group meanwhile fired another barrage of rockets into Israel, including two that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv before being intercepted. A cloud of smoke could be seen in the sky from the hotel where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was staying on his latest visit to the region to try to renew cease-fire talks. Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes, after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. All-out war erupted in Lebanon last month, and Israeli strikes killed Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and most of his senior commanders. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of October. The Israeli military said Tuesday that one of its airstrikes in recent weeks killed Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah leader and cleric who was widely expected to succeed Nasrallah. Tyre, a provincial capital, had largely been spared in the Israel-Hezbollah war, but strikes in an around the city have intensified recently. The 2,500-year-old city, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Beirut, is known for its pristine beaches, ancient harbor and imposing Roman ruins and hippodrome, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is among Lebanon’s largest cities and a vibrant metropolis popular with tourists.

The buildings struck on Wednesday were between several heritage sites, including the hippodrome and a cluster of seaside sites associated with the ancient Phoenicians and the Crusaders. The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings a couple hours prior for dozens of buildings in the heart of the city. It told residents to move north of the Awali River, dozens of kilometers (miles) to the north. Avichay Adraee, an Israeli military spokesman, said on the platform X that there were Hezbollah assets in the area of the evacuation warning, without elaborating or providing evidence. The city is in southern Lebanon, where the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah has a strong presence, and its legislators are members of the group or its allies. But Tyre is also home to civilians with no ties to the group, including a sizable Christian community. First responders from Lebanon’s Civil Defense used loudspeakers to warn residents to evacuate the area and helped older adults and others who had difficulty leaving. Ali Safieddine, the head of the Civil Defense, told The Associated Press there were no casualties.