(JTA) – Some 240 Congress members have signed on to a bipartisan letter to the U.N. secretary-general calling for an international effort to defend Israel and limit the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah. Antonio Guterres, the letter said, should “lead an international effort to limit Hezbollah’s capabilities and to avoid the devastating but avoidable outcome of which you have previously warned. We bear significant civilian costs in Lebanon if Israel must act to defend its citizens because Hezbollah has positioned its massive arsenal in civilian areas, turning much of Lebanon’s population into human shields.”

Democratic Reps. Elaine Luria of Virginia and Haley Stevens of Michigan and Republicans Lee Zeldin of New York and Michael Waltz of Florida spearheaded the letter. The letter references the U.N. resolution calling for the Lebanese government to disarm terror groups, and also increased the size and mandate of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon. The letter noted that last year, Israel exposed six terror tunnels crossing from Southern Lebanon into Israel built by Hezbollah to kidnap and kill Israeli civilians.

Main Photo: Spanish UN peacekeepers patrolling along the Lebanese-Israeli border pass a Hezbollah flag, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, September 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)