The Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCO) and the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called on Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday to cease fire amid an escalating exchange of cross-border attacks between the two sides. In a joint statement, UNIFIL and UNSCOL expressed deep concern over the recent developments along the Blue Line, the Lebanese-Israeli border, and urged for an immediate cessation of hostilities, urging both parties to “refrain from further escalatory actions.” “A return to the cessation of hostilities, followed by the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, is the only sustainable way forward,” the statement emphasized. Resolution 1701, unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council on August 11, 2006, called for a complete halt to hostilities between Lebanon and Israel and the establishment of a zone free of armed personnel and weapons between the Blue Line and the Litani River in southern Lebanon, except for the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL. “We will continue our contacts to strongly urge for de-escalation,” UNIFIL and UNSCOL stated. Early Sunday, Israeli warplanes launched over 40 airstrikes on southern Lebanon, marking the most severe attack since cross-border clashes with Hezbollah began on October 8, 2023. The Israeli army claimed that the strikes were intended to prevent an impending Hezbollah attack. In response, Hezbollah announced that it had launched hundreds of missiles and drones deep into Israel as part of the “first phase” of its retaliation for the assassination of its commander, Fouad Shukr, in Beirut last month. — Agencies