German foreign minister, Baerbock warns Lebanon on brink of collapse

German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said Wednesday that “Lebanon is on the brink of collapse” as she made her visit to the war-torn nation.

She claimed that any deliberate attack on UN peacekeepers violates international humanitarian law as Israel bombards Lebanon.

Since October 7 of last year, Baerbock has traveled to the Middle East 12 times.

The humanitarian situation in Lebanon is becoming more desperate by the day,” she declared at the start of her trip, which Berlin had not previously revealed due to security concerns.

Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing with their last belongings, children are being separated from their parents and hospitals are working at the limit of their capacity.

“Lebanon is on the brink of collapse.”

She cautioned that Israel must operate within the narrow limits of the right to self-defence and international humanitarian law”.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon has called out Israel for attacking its peacekeepers multiple times in recent weeks.

The German foreign minister, stated that all parties to the conflict also have an obligation to protect UN peacekeepers.

“The soldiers of UNIFIL have our full support. They are needed for a political solution to the conflict.

“Any deliberate attack on UN peacekeepers violates international humanitarian law,” she said

Israel’s offensive has killed 42,718 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to figures from the Gazan health ministry which the UN considers reliable.