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Biden in final UN address warns against 'full-scale war' in Lebanon

US President Joe Biden also pushed again for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas, telling the global body it was time to "end this war."

AP

The United States, Israel's closest ally, has opposed a ground invasion into Lebanon. / Photo: AP

US President Joe Biden has asked world leaders to prevent "full-scale war" over Lebanon, as tensions rise between Israel and Hezbollah.

"Full-scale war is not in anyone's interest. Even though the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible," Biden said in his farewell address to the global body on Tuesday.

"In fact (it) remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes on the border safely," Biden said.

The UN General Assembly, the high point of the diplomatic calendar, comes as Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes killed 558 people — 50 of them children.

UN Security Council member France called for an emergency meeting on the crisis, as the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell warned "We are almost in a full-fledged war."

Biden also pushed again for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas, telling the global body it was time to "end this war."

It is unclear what progress can be made to defuse the situation in Lebanon as the efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, which Israel has relentlessly pounded since October 2023, have come to nothing.

UN head calls global situation 'unsustainable' as world leaders meet

UNSC reforms

In addition, Biden voiced support for Security Council reforms and expansion, saying the UN "needs to adapt and bring new voices and perspectives."

World leaders have opened their annual meeting at the UN General Assembly under the shadow of increasing global divisions, Israel's war in Gaza, the Ukraine-Russia war, the Sudan civil war and now rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

Other significant speakers on opening day are Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Ukraine will also be on the agenda Tuesday when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a UN Security Council meeting on the Russian invasion.

Biden said that Russian President Vladimir "Putin's war has failed at its core aim. He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free."

It is unclear if the grand diplomatic gathering can achieve anything for the millions mired in conflict, poverty and climate crisis globally.