Imran Riza made the appeal following a visit to Bint Jbeil and Tyre districts on Tuesday.

“What I saw in South Lebanon was both depressing and inspiring. The scale of destruction – to villages, health facilities, and water systems – is disturbing,” he said in a statement.

The crisis stems from fighting that erupted between Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Israeli forces following the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, which killed some 1,200 people.

Israel launched an incursion into southern Lebanon in late September 2024 and carried out airstrikes across the country that killed thousands and displaced nearly a million people. 

Last November, Lebanon and Israel signed a ceasefire agreement to end the fighting. 

It called for Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants to withdraw from the south, while the Lebanese military would redeploy to the region to guarantee the peace alongside troops from UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL, who monitor the Blue Line of separation between the two countries. 

Since then, ceasefire violations have occurred and violence has escalated, including recent Israeli strikes on areas of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, reportedly targeting Hezbollah.