On 30 September 2024, Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of a stronger Europe in the World, gave a statement during the emergency meeting on Lebanon of the UN Security Council in New York, United States. 

In the early hours of 23 September, a large-scale military operation launched by Israel in Lebanon resulted in the deadliest exchange of fire across the Blue Line since October 2023. This escalation follows a weekend of intense clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, including Hezbollah rocket attacks on key Israeli sites near Haifa and Israel’s most intense bombardment of sites in Lebanon since 8 October 2023. Israeli airstrikes have since hit dozens of towns across Lebanon, including Saida, Nabatieh, Tyre Bekaa valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut.