UN urges Middle East ceasefires to avert ‘major regional war’ with ‘global implications’

The UN stressed on Monday the urgent need for ceasefires in both Lebanon and Gaza to avert a broader regional conflict with ramifications for the whole world.

“A ceasefire that is sustained by a meaningful peace process … is the only way to break the cycle of violence, of hatred, of misery,” said UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi, addressing more than 100 diplomats and ministers in Geneva at refugee agency UNHCR’s annual meeting.

He insisted that only a ceasefire could “stem the tide to a major regional war with global implications”.

Grandi said an unprecedented 123 million people are now displaced around the world by conflicts, persecution, poverty and climate change.

“You might then ask: what can be done? For a start, do not focus only on your borders,” he said, urging leaders instead to look at the reasons people are fleeing their homes.

The number of displaced people around the world has more than doubled in the past decade.