Addressing a meeting of the Board of Directors of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on Tuesday, Ali Bahraini expressed his apprehension over the degrading humanitarian situation in Lebanon due to the Israeli regime’s brutal aggression and inhumane acts, PressTV reported.
Presenting statistics on the destruction of Lebanon's economic infrastructure, Bahraini called for the international community’s immediate action to help protect civilian facilities in the country, end Israeli brutalities, and allow activities of the ILO office in Lebanon to continue.
He urged a detailed assessment of the fallout of the Israeli onslaught on Lebanese laborers, employers, and the job market.
The Iranian diplomat also voiced the Islamic Republic’s unwavering solidarity with the Lebanese nation, demanding that the international community support the sovereignty of Lebanon and assist its people at this difficult juncture.
Last month, a UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights said multiple Israeli bombings of a Lebanese financial institution linked to Hezbollah were illegal attacks on civilian objects under international humanitarian law.
“International humanitarian law does not permit attacks on the economic or financial infrastructure of an adversary, even if they indirectly sustain its military activities,” Ben Saul said in a statement.
Lebanon and the Lebanese people are already suffering a debilitating economic crisis that has gripped the country since 2019. Savings have disappeared both in terms of exchange rates and actual deposits as banks announce they have no cash to release, and more and more people worry about simply staying alive.
About 80 percent of the population is below the poverty line, and 36 percent is below the “extreme poverty line,” living on less than $2.15 a day.
This comes as a fresh Israeli strike south of Beirut killed at least 20 people, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported.
According to the ministry, the strike hit the coastal town of Barja, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the capital on Tuesday.
Earlier, a strike targeting another residential building in Jiyeh town killed one person, according to the ministry.
Israel has killed at least 3,013 people and wounded another 13,553 in its attacks on Lebanon since the onset of its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
SD/