The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the continued air strikes perpetrated by Israeli government forces against residential areas in Beirut and Damascus, in flagrant violation of International Law, even International Humanitarian Law.

Cuba condemns, in particular, the air strike launched on November 14 by Israeli forces occupying the Syrian Golan against the residential neighborhood of Mezzeh, in Damascus, where diplomatic missions and United Nations offices accredited to Syria are located.

We likewise condemn the daily Israeli attacks against the southern suburb of Beirut, near the Hazmieh neighborhood.

Such attacks have occurred in areas very close to the Cuban diplomatic missions in Damascus and Beirut.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba has requested the attention of the UN Secretary General to this denunciation, and calls for the Security Council to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, as established by the United Nations Charter.

In the same vein, we also request the efforts of the President of the General Assembly of said Organization.

The atrocious crimes committed by Israel have caused dozens of deaths and injuries among the civilian population, including women and children, as well as the complete destruction of residential buildings.

These actions are part of the aggressive policy implemented by the State of Israel against Middle East nations, as is evidenced by the genocide that is being committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the attacks against Lebanon and other aggressions against the Syrian territories.

Israel, the Occupying Power, has the military, logistic and political support of the government of the United States, which guarantees impunity and has provoked a dangerous escalation that further compromises regional and international stability and security.

Cuba, while expressing its solidarity with the nations attacked by Israel, is calling to pursue international legitimate efforts to achieve peace and an immediate and permanent ceasefire to avoid a further escalation of a conflict that has already taken a toll on the lives of tens of thousands of civilians, including women, the elderly and children, and has aggravated the humanitarian crisis which has reached alarming levels in these peoples of the region.

In accordance with its foreign policy, based on strict compliance with the UN Charter and International Law, the Republic of Cuba reiterates that peace will only be possible in the Middle East through a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the conflict, which includes the creation of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State, within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and the return of the refugees.

Cuba likewise demands that the incorporation of Palestine as a full-fledged member of the UN be guaranteed without further delay.

Havana, November 18, 2024

(Cubaminrex)