LONDON

Jeremy Corbyn said Tuesday that the Israeli incursion into Lebanon is an "an invasion," as he criticized the UK for failing to defend international law.

"Israel's decision to send troops into Lebanon, a sovereign nation, is not a ‘limited ground operation.’ It is an invasion. Our government's hypocrisy is on full display," the Independent lawmaker wrote on X.

"Its failure to defend international law and stand up to Israel is a moral disgrace," said Corbyn, who is an MP with the Independent Alliance and former Labour Party leader.

Israel has launched massive airstrikes since Sept. 23 against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon that have killed more than 1,057 victims and injured north of 2,950, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Several leaders of the Lebanese resistance group have been killed in the strikes, including the leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's onslaught against the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,600 victims, most of them women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, last October.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.