Lebanon has right to defend its land amid systematic Israeli escalation, Mikati tells army officers
BEIRUT: Lebanon is determined to defend its land and sovereignty, Interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday.
“We will not waver in this despite the sacrifices,” he said.
Mikati described developments in the region as “disturbing”, signaling a heightened level of danger.
He said that “there is no indication that Israeli arrogance will stop.”
Mikati met with senior officers in the Lebanese army command and warned that “regional developments are a cause for concern.”
He stressed that the army “remains a firm guarantee of the unity of Lebanon, its territory, people and institutions, which makes it a national duty for everyone to unite around the institution of the army.”
Mikati said that in response to continued violent Israeli escalation, “we affirm our right to defend our land, sovereignty and dignity by all available means.”
He stated that he informed “friendly and fraternal countries that we are for peace and not for war.”
“We seek continued stability through Israel's commitment to UN Resolution 1701 in all its provisions. No amount of Israeli aggression will keep us from it.”
Mikati stressed the importance of deploying the army in cooperation with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon to prevent violations of “our internationally recognized borders.” This is important to ensure stability and security for the people of the South.”
He added: “Our right to use the resources in our waters is absolute and non-negotiable.”
Mikati also met with the ambassadors of five permanent members of the UN Security Council (USA, France, Great Britain, China and Russia) and representatives of non-permanent member states located in Lebanon (Algeria, Japan, Switzerland, and South Korea).
The meeting comes amid an escalating standoff between Israel and Hezbollah, which reached its peak on Tuesday with the killing of senior Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr in the heart of Beirut's southern suburbs.
The Mikati media service said the assembled ambassadors reaffirmed “Lebanon's commitment to the implementation of UN resolutions, especially Resolution 1701, as a top priority in the region.”
Lebanon also filed a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel for aggression against the southern suburbs of Beirut.
It says that Israel's dangerous escalation has affected a densely populated residential area in violation of international law and the UN Charter.
A funeral procession was held in the southern city 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 Hizbullah holding a funeral procession through Shukr in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah vowed to respond to Shukr's killing Thursday night during Shukr's funeral.
He said that Israel “should expect the revenge of the honorable” and that “we have entered a new phase on all fronts of support for (Hamas in the Gaza Strip).”
He said that Israel “crossed the red line and has no idea what kind of aggression it has committed.”
The Israeli army on Friday carried out airstrikes and shelled border towns, including Rab el Talatin, Deira and Blida, as well as the outskirts of Nakuru and Tayr Harf.
Hezbollah has announced a number of targets that meet the rules of engagement.
Artillery shells targeted the deployment of Israeli soldiers at the points of Dayra, the Al-Sammak section of the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfarchuba and the Bayad Blid location.
After the Israeli attack on Shamaa, the side fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at the Matsuva settlement.
