UN chief arrives in Beirut, calls for peace, solidarity with Lebanon

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Beirut on a visit aimed at expressing solidarity with the people of Lebanon where hundreds have died in Israeli strikes in the past two weeks.

In a message posted on X after landing, Guterres said the Lebanese people “did not choose this war” and had been “dragged into it,” emphasising the heavy toll the conflict has taken on the country, Caliber.Az reports.

I have just landed in Beirut for a visit of solidarity with the people of Lebanon.

They did not choose this war. They were dragged into it.

The @UN & I will spare no effort in striving for the peaceful future that Lebanon & this region so richly deserve.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 13, 2026

The UN chief stressed that both the United Nations and his office would continue working intensively to promote peace and stability in Lebanon and across the wider region.

Guterres said the organisation would “spare no effort” in striving for a peaceful future that Lebanon and the Middle East “so richly deserve.”

Hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon have been displaced due to Israeli strikes in the past two weeks.

By Sabina Mammadli