Mikati tells military officials Lebanon has the right to defend its territory amid Israeli escalation
BEIRUT: Lebanon is committed to defending its territory and sovereignty, acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Friday.
“We will not hesitate to do so, no matter what the sacrifices,” he said.
Mikati described the events in the region as “worrisome” and an indication of a heightened level of danger.
“There is no indication that Israel’s arrogance will stop,” he said.
Mikati met with senior officials at the Lebanese military command and warned that “developments in the region are concerning.”
He stressed that the army “remains a firm guarantee for the unity of Lebanon, its territory, its people and its institutions, making it a national obligation for everyone to unite around the institution of the army.”
“We reaffirm our right to defend our territory, our sovereignty and our dignity by all means available,” Mikati said in response to Israel’s escalating violence.
He said he had informed “friendly and brotherly countries that we support peace, not war.”
“We seek lasting stability through Israel’s commitment to enforce UN Resolution 1701 in all its provisions. Israeli aggression cannot stop us.”
Mikati stressed the importance of deploying troops alongside the UN interim force in Lebanon to prevent violations of “our internationally recognized borders, which are essential to ensure stability and security for the people of the south.”
“Our rights to use the resources in our waters are absolute and non-negotiable,” he added.
Mikati also met with ambassadors from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China and Russia) and representatives from the non-permanent members based in Lebanon (Algeria, Japan, Switzerland and South Korea).
The meeting comes amid an escalating confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated on Tuesday with the assassination of senior Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr in the heart of the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The gathered ambassadors reaffirmed Lebanon's “commitment to complying with UN resolutions, especially Resolution 1701, which is a top priority in the region,” the Mikhai news agency reported.
Lebanon has also filed a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel over its invasion of Beirut's southern suburbs.
The report says Israel's dangerous escalation of violence has hit densely populated residential areas in violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.
In the southern city of Shama, a funeral procession was held for a Syrian mother and her three children, Fatima al-Raja al-Hajj and her sons Suleiman Mohammed and Ahmed al-Hajj, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home on Thursday night.
The death toll of Syrians killed in the southern clashes since October 8 has risen to 18.
The airstrikes came as Hezbollah was holding a funeral procession for Shukr in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah pledged Thursday evening at Shukr's funeral to respond to his assassination.
He said Israel “should expect vengeance from the honorable” and that “we have entered a new phase of all-round support (for Hamas in the Gaza Strip).”
He said Israel “crossed a red line and did not know what kind of aggression it had committed.”
The Israeli military launched airstrikes and artillery strikes on border towns on Friday, including the towns of Rab El-Thalathin, Dhayra and Blida, as well as the suburbs of Naqoura and Tayr Harfa.
Hezbollah declares multiple targets within its rules of operation
The objective was to place Israeli troops in the Dhayra area, the Al-Sammaqa area in the occupied Kfarchouba hills in Lebanon, and the Bayad Blida area using artillery shells.
The party fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at the Matzuva settlement after the Israeli attack on Shamaa.
