Aoun accuses Iran of using Lebanon as 'bargaining chip'
· RTE.ieLebanese President Joseph Aoun has accused Iran of using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with the United States, in some of his toughest criticism yet of Tehran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah as it wages war with Israel.
In a CNN interview, Mr Aoun said "the people of Lebanon are paying the price ... for the sake" of Iran's interests, and were "fed up" with war between Israel and Hezbollah - comments reflecting deep divisions along Lebanon's religious and political faultlines.
"They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the United States," Mr Aoun said of Iran, according to excerpts of the interview published on the CNN website. "It's unacceptable."
Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah, founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, ignited the latest hostilities more than three months ago when it opened fire in solidarity with Tehran after Iran came under US-Israeli attack.
Mr Aoun, who led the Lebanese military before becoming head of state, is a Maronite Christian, as required by Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing arrangements.
He has pressed for the peaceful disarmament of Hezbollah since being elected head of state by parliament last year. Early in the war, he called for face-to-face talks with Israel, further setting him at odds with the group.
Iran has made a Lebanon ceasefire a condition for any peace deal with Washington in the wider regional conflict that began with the US-Israeli attack on Tehran on 28 February.
Yesterday, Hezbollah rejected a ceasefire plan agreed by Lebanese and Israeli government officials in US-mediated talks in Washington. The deal would be contingent on Hezbollah ceasing fire and its fighters withdrawing from southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in a written statement that the Washington agreement was rejected by "broad segments of the Lebanese people".
Addressing Mr Qassem, Mr Aoun said: "The Lebanese people are not your people".
Israeli attacks have killed thousands of people in Lebanon since March and displaced some 1.2 million people, Lebanese authorities say. Israeli troops have occupied a swathe of southern Lebanon.
UN doubles Lebanon aid appeal as humanitarian needs surge
Meanwhile, the United Nations is doubling the amount of money that it says it needs to help Lebanon meet surging humanitarian needs, as the war enters its fourth month.
The country was drawn into the wider regional conflict in early March when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Iran, which was under attack from the US and Israel, prompting a major Israeli air and ground campaign.
The Hezbollah attack was in response to the killing of Iran's supreme leader on 28 February.
"In the past three months, communities across Lebanon have faced an appalling situation due to the escalation of hostilities," UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza said.
"The toll on civilians is alarming and worsening by the day."
The UN said it would launch a fresh aid appeal with the Lebanese government to seek an additional $331.5m (€285m) to reach 1.4 million people, bringing the total appeal to $639.9m (€550m).
It had received $185.9m (€160m) as of 31 May.
Since 2 March, more than 3,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Lebanese authorities, whose data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Nearly one in four people in Lebanon - around 1.24 million - are expected to face crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity until August, according to the UN.
Mr Riza described meeting a family in the southern city of Tyre, which has been heavily targeted by Israeli strikes, who had been displaced five times.
He said that hospitals and clinics had been damaged by airstrikes and agricultural land scorched.
A new US-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon, announced on Wednesday, contingent on Hezbollah leaving southern areas, was rejected by the militant group and Israel said that it would not withdraw troops from the country.
Israeli strikes kill seven in south Lebanon
Israeli strikes on Tyre killed seven people overnight, a civila defence source said.
Four of them died in an attack near Jabal Amel hospital. Seven people were wounded and light damage was caused to the facility.
Three people were killed and five injured, including two children, in a residential area.
Jabal Amel hospital has been damaged by strikes on several occasions during the war, most recently on Monday when four people were killed and 127 wounded, including 39 staff.
The Israeli military issued new evacuation warnings for nine southern Lebanese towns and villages, with Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reporting people were fleeing.
Following Israeli orders for residents to leave most of Tyre, many people have sought shelter in its small Old City, which has been spared evacuation warnings and strikes. It is where the Christian quarter is located.
With shelters full, displaced people have been sleeping in cars or tents, but many have left since the Israeli army claimed on Tuesday that Hezbollah members were operating in the area, according to reports.
On Wednesday night, a drone strike landed near a park in Tyre where dozens of displaced Syrians were sheltering in tents, correspondent said.
Locals have organised a petition calling for Tyre to be declared an "open city" - free of any armed presence except Lebanon's military.
It has been signed by around 250 people, including lawyers and intellectuals.
Hezbollah has a strong presence in Tyre and some signatories have faced online attacks over their stance.
More than 500 people have also signed a petition for Nabatieh, another large south Lebanon city that has come under Israeli attack.