Lebanon has the right to defend its country amid systematic Israeli escalation, Mikati told army officers
BEIRUT: Lebanon is determined to defend its country and sovereignty, interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday.
“We will hesitate to do so, regardless of the casualties,” he said.
Mikati described regional developments as “disturbing”, signaling increased levels of danger.
He said there was “no sign that Israeli arrogance will end”.
Mikati met with senior officers of the Lebanese army command and warned that “regional developments are worrying”.
He stressed that the army “remains a firm guarantee of the unity of Lebanon, its territory, people and institutions, so it is a national duty for everyone to unite around the institution of the army”.
Mikati said that in response to the ongoing and severe Israeli escalation, “we affirm our right to defend our country, sovereignty and dignity by all available means.”
He said he informed “friendly and brotherly countries that we are for peace, not war.
“We seek lasting stability through Israel's commitment to implement UN Resolution 1701 in all its provisions. No amount of Israeli aggression will deter us from that.”
Mikati stressed the importance of deploying the military in cooperation with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon to prevent violations of “our internationally recognized borders. This is necessary 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 the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (USA, France, United Kingdom, China and Russia) and representatives of non-permanent member states present in Lebanon (Algeria, Japan, Switzerland, and South Korea).
The meeting took place against a backdrop of escalating confrontations between Israel and Hezbollah, which reached a climax on Tuesday with the assassination of senior Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in the heart of Beirut's southern suburbs.
Mikati's media office said the assembled ambassadors reaffirmed “Lebanon's commitment to implementing UN resolutions, especially Resolution 1701, as a top priority in the region.”
Lebanon also lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel for its aggression against the southern suburbs of Beirut.
It said Israel's dangerous escalation hit 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 night.
The death toll of Syrian civilians killed during confrontations in the south since October 8 has risen to 18.
The raid coincided with Hezbollah holding a funeral procession for Shukr in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah vowed to respond to Shukr's assassination on Thursday night during Shukr's funeral.
He said 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 Israel “crossed red lines and has no idea of the kind of aggression it has committed.”
The Israeli army launched airstrikes and artillery fire on border towns, including Rab El-Thalathine, Dhayra and Blida, as well as the suburbs of Naqour and Tayr Harfa on Friday.
Hezbollah announced a number of targets that were within the rules of engagement.
It focused on deploying Israeli soldiers in the Dhayra site, the Al-Sammaqa site in the occupied Lebanese Kfarchouba Hills and the Bayad Blida site with artillery shells.
The party fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at the Matzuva settlement after the Israeli attack on Shamaa.
