UNGA Prez meets families of hostages held by Hamas, reiterates call for ceasefire
Oct 09, 2024
New York [US], October 9 : United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Philemon Yang met family members of the hostages held by the Hamas terror group and emphasised the need for an immediate ceasefire to end civilian suffering.
In a post on X, Yang shared pictures from the meeting on Wednesday (local time) and stressed UNGA's demand for immediate and unconditional release of hostages.
"Today I met with some of the family members of those who are still held hostage by Hamas. I reiterate the strong demand of #UNGA for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire," Yang said.
https://x.com/UN_PGA/status/1843771268161851515
"The suffering of civilians must end, and it must end now," he added.
Earlier, the Israeli army issued a warning that it was going to hit a number of buildings in Dahiyeh, the southern suburb of Beirut, Al Jazeera reported.
According to Al Jaseera, there have been at least four strikes in the past couple of hours. The extent of the damage yet to be ascertained.
Israel said the strikes targeted Hezbollah intelligence quarters, Al Jaseera reported.
In the Baalbek region, a small village was struck and we've seen flames going up into the night sky. We know that there was an Israeli strike but we don't know exactly what they were hitting, but we do know that flames have been burning for hours, as per Al Jaseera report.
Amid increasing Israeli attacks, at least 36 people were killed and 150 wounded across Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
According to Al Jaseera, the Israeli military said that Hezbollah fired 180 rockets into Israeli territory in various attacks on Wednesday (local time). Hezbollah fired more than 80 rockets at the northern Israeli city of Haifa, as the group's deputy leader, Naim Qassem, said in a public address that Hezbollah's military capabilities were intact.
The war started exactly one year ago on October 7, when Hamas launched a massive terror attack against Israel.
