Mikati tells army officers that Lebanon has the right to defend its country in the face of systematic Israeli escalation
BEIRUT: Lebanon is determined to defend its country and its sovereignty, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday.
“We will not hesitate to do so, regardless of the sacrifices involved,” he said.
Mikati described developments in the region as “worrying” and indicated an increased level of danger.
He said: “There is no indication that Israeli arrogance will stop.”
Mikati met with senior officers of the Lebanese army command and warned that “developments in the region are cause for concern.”
He stressed that the army “remains the firm guarantor of the unity of Lebanon, its territory, people and institutions, so it is a national obligation for all to unite behind the institution of the army.”
Mikati said that in response to the ongoing and severe Israeli escalation, “we reaffirm our right to defend our land, our sovereignty and our dignity by all available means.”
He said he had “informed friendly and brotherly countries that we stand for peace and not war.”
“We seek lasting stability through Israel's commitment to implement UN Resolution 1701 in all its provisions. No Israeli aggression will deter us from doing so.”
Mikati stressed the importance of sending the army to Lebanon in cooperation with the UN Interim Force to prevent violations of “our internationally recognized borders.” “This is crucial to ensure stability and security for the people of the south.”
He added: “Our right to use the resources of our waters is absolute and non-negotiable.”
Mikati also met with the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China and Russia) and the representatives of the non-permanent member states present in Lebanon (Algeria, Japan, Switzerland and South Korea).
The meeting took place against the backdrop of the escalating confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated on Tuesday with the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in the heart of a southern suburb of Beirut.
Mikati's media office said the assembled ambassadors reaffirmed Lebanon's “commitment to implementing UN resolutions, particularly Resolution 1701, as a top priority in the region.”
Lebanon has also filed a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel over its aggression against the southern suburb of Beirut.
It said Israel's dangerous escalation had affected a densely populated residential area and thus constituted a violation of international law and the UN Charter.
A funeral procession was held in the southern town of Shamaa 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 evening.
The number of Syrian civilians killed in clashes in the south since October 8 has risen to 18.
The airstrike coincided with Hezbollah's funeral procession for Shukr in a southern suburb of Beirut.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah vowed to respond to Shukr's killing during his funeral on Thursday evening.
He said that Israel “must expect the vengeance of the honorable” and that “we have entered a new phase on all fronts of support (for Hamas in Gaza).”
He said Israel had “crossed red lines and had no idea what kind of aggression it had committed.”
The Israeli army launched air strikes on Friday and targeted border towns with artillery fire, including Rab El-Thalathine, Dhayra and Blida, as well as the outskirts of Naqoura and Tayr Harfa.
Hezbollah announced a number of targets that were within the rules of engagement.
The attack targeted Israeli soldiers in the Dhayra and Al-Sammaqa positions in the occupied Lebanese Kfarchouba Mountains and in Bayad Blida.
Following the Israeli attack on Shamaa, the party fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at the settlement of Matzuva.
