Lebanon: Israel Defense Forces Operations

Baroness Blackstone Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I want to be absolutely clear about this: I have complete sympathy with the people who have been displaced and harmed and who are living in the fear the noble Lord talks about—of course I do, as does everybody else in this Government. It is important and essential that we rid Lebanon of Hezbollah. How we do that is not by razing whole villages to the ground and by killing 3,500 civilians and over 100 health workers. I do not see how the aims Israel says it has—aims that we all share, of ridding the world of Hezbollah—are met through that action.

[Baroness Blackstone (Lab)]

My Lords, I too condemn Hezbollah’s actions in northern Israel, but I am very grateful to my noble friend the Minister for what she has said about how this problem should be dealt with. Some 20% of the population of Lebanon has been displaced—well over a million people—and thousands have been injured and hundreds killed. This kind of aggressive action by the IDF and the Israeli Government cannot be the best way of securing a long-term solution to the problems Lebanon, its Government and many of its civilians are facing. Will the Minister therefore also say a bit more about what policies the Government are now following to try to get disengagement on both sides—Iran as well as Israel—so that a long-term solution can be found to the terrible problems the Lebanese are suffering?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

The first thing we need, as has been agreed previously but needs to be restated, is cessation of the violence we currently see. Where we have a role in that, we play it, as do others, including the United States. As far as our policies go, we are continuing to provide additional humanitarian support to the now one million-plus displaced people, and we have just had to allocate an additional £30 million to this effort because of the ongoing conflict. But I repeat that the right way to deal with Hezbollah—the only way, in the end, that is going to be a sustainable solution to this—is to strengthen the Government of Lebanon and the armed forces there to enable them to do this in a way that lasts.