Middle East: ‘No time to lose’ in negotiating ceasefire and Gaza hostage release: Top UN envoy

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Against the backdrop of another major escalation across the Blue Line dividing southern Lebanon and Israel on Sunday, the UN’s top Middle East envoy said on Sunday “there is no time to lose” for a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all hostages.

Posting on X, Tor Wennesland said he had met Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa following “intense exchanges” between the Israeli military – which said it had carried out large-scale pre-emptive strikes – and the militant group Hezbollah based in southern Lebanon which said it had carried out an attack which has now been “completed and accomplished.”

In a statement released later in the day the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was deeply concerned over the “significant increase in exchanges”.

“These actions put both the Lebanese and Israeli populations at risk as well as threatening regional security and stability“, the statement released by his Spokesperson continued, calling for “immediate de-escalation”.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been attempting to broker a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and militant group Hamas in the Egyptian capital Cairo, with Hamas reportedly agreeing to send a delegation this weekend to be briefed on progress, without directly participating.

According to news reports, the current sticking point in negotiations is Israel’s insistence on having a presence along the border between Egypt and Gaza known as the Philadelphi corridor and on the road that bisects the Gaza Strip.

Deal ‘crucial to saving civilian lives’

Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Wennesland said the ongoing talks in Cairo “are crucial to saving civilian lives, reducing tensions and enabling the UN – in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority – to accelerate efforts to address the pressing needs of Gaza’s long-suffering population.”

He added on X that “we need a ceasefire and the release of all hostages, now. There is no time to lose.”

Earlier, a joint statement released online by the UN Special Coordinator Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called on Israel and Hezbollah to “refrain from further escalatory action”, and for all combatants in the region to cease hostilities.

“A return to the cessation of hostilities followed by the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701 is the only way forwarded”, UNIFIL tweeted.

Resolution 1701 of 2006 calls for Israel and Lebanon to support a ceasefire and long-term peace settlement and “the need to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in the wider Middle East.

Destruction in Hebbariyeh village in southern Lebanon resuled from hostilities across the Blue Line.