UN Special Coordinator Joanna Wronecka held a round of meetings this week with Lebanese and international stakeholders to try to safeguarding Lebanon’s security and stability from the ongoing warfare between Israeli and Hamas, which has already resulted in tensions along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.  In all her meetings, the Special Coordinator underlined the urgency of restoring the calm along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel and of protecting Lebanon from a further spillover of violence at a time when the country was already in the throes of a protracted political and socio-economic crisis.

The Special Coordinator coordinated with UNIFIL, the peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon, how to encourage all sides to recommit to the cessation of hostilities and the requirements of Security Council Resolution 1701 and with the rest of the UN Country team on readiness and preparedness during this crisis. The Special Coordinator met with ambassadors of the P5 in Lebanon to coordinate conflict prevention efforts as well as with the Brazilian Ambassador, whose country is chairing the Security Council and the Palestinian Ambassador to discuss the situation in the Palestine refugee camps in Lebanon.

The Special Coordinator also held a round of meetings with Lebanese spiritual leaders, including the Shiite Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Kalaban and Druze Sheikh Aql Sami Abil Mona on the importance of strengthening national unity and collective solidarity to face these challenging times for Lebanon and the region.