UN demands permanent ceasefire in Lebanon, Gaza

GENEVA, Nov 26 (AFP): The UN rights chief is gravely concerned over the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and wants a "permanent ceasefire" there and in war-ravaged Gaza, his spokesman said Tuesday.

"The high commissioner reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire to put an end to the killings and the destruction," Jeremy Laurence, a spokesman for Volker Turk, told reporters in Geneva.

His comment came as Israel's security cabinet was due to meet to vote on a proposed ceasefire with Hezbollah in its war in Lebanon, with the White House voicing optimism that a deal was close.

The United States, European Union and United Nations have pushed in recent days for a truce in the long-running hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into full-scale war in late September.

The war in Lebanon followed nearly a year of limited cross-border exchanges of fire with Hezbollah.

The Lebanese group said it was acting in support of Hamas after the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.