UN chief Antonio Guterres arrived in Beirut on Friday for a “solidarity” visit to Lebanon, following a stop in Turkey as he joined Muslims fasting for Ramadan and called on the world to “end the scourge of Islamophobia in every country and community.”
veteran Portuguese Socialists have been steadfast in respecting Islam in general, and Ramadan in particular, as the key to society’s prosperity if it embraces “the great vision of hope and peace”. He claims that all Muslims consider the observance of Ramzan dear.
Guterres is expected to raise awareness of humanitarian needs in Lebanon, where more than 800,000 people have been displaced as Israel fights rocket attacks from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, AFP reports.
“I have just arrived in Beirut to show solidarity with the people of Lebanon. They did not choose this war. They were dragged into it,” the UN Secretary-General revealed on Twitter.
“The United Nations and I will leave no stone unturned in striving for the peaceful future that Lebanon and the region at large deserve.”
The United Nations said it would launch an emergency appeal for funds during his visit as its own migration agency has said it needs $19 million to cover operations over the next three months.
“Humanitarian needs are growing faster than the response,” Matthew Luciano, Lebanon mission chief for the International Organization for Migration, told reporters in Geneva, according to AFP.
Lebanon entered the Middle East conflict over the past seven days when Iran-backed Hezbollah militants used it as a base to attack Israel in response to the US-Israeli strikes that assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his wife Emine Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres together after presenting the Ataturk International Peace Prize to Antonio Guterres in Ankara, Turkey on March 12, 2026. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Handout/Anadolu via Getty)
Israel expanded its retaliatory strikes in Lebanon on Friday, targeting several areas, including a bridge over the Litani River, which Hezbollah was using as a passage for its militant fighters.
Meanwhile Hezbollah launches new attacks against Israeli forces as it ignores all calls to disarm
