Al-Azhar headquarters in Cairo
In a statement, Al-Azhar emphasized that targeting civilians also reflects Israel’s disregard for human and moral values, as well as its approach based on igniting wars, spreading chaos, and showing no respect for the sanctity of innocent blood.
The statement warned against Israel’s attempts to set the region ablaze to breach the current truce and ceasefire agreement.
Al-Azhar affirmed that these attacks, which have claimed the lives of dozens of victims and injured hundreds of innocent civilians, represent a serious escalation and a blatant violation of all international and humanitarian charters and laws.
It emphasized that the absence of international accountability and legal deterrent measures has encouraged Israel to persist in its criminal behaviour and commit further crimes, to the point that it now poses a serious threat to the security and stability of the region.
Al-Azhar called on the international community to take urgent action to stop these crimes, and to assume its legal and moral responsibilities in protecting civilians, preserving Lebanon’s unity, stability, and sovereignty over all its territory.
The world’s leading Sunni Islamic institution prayed for the protection of Lebanon and its people, and for the peoples of the region to be spared the horrors of war and conflict.
Al-Azhar’s statement comes in response to a wide-scale Israeli aggression on Lebanon, with Tel Aviv launching 130 airstrikes on Beirut and the rest of Lebanon earlier Wednesday, killing 182 and wounding 890, with the casualty figures climbing.
Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had accused Israel of killing unarmed civilians in Lebanon and attacking densely populated areas, while Parliament Speaker Nabi Berri called it "a war of extermination against Lebanon."
The Israeli strikes come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump claimed the recently announced two-week ceasefire with Iran does not include Lebanon, despite mediator Pakistan confirming that Lebanon was part of the truce.
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