Mikati tells military officers that Lebanon has the right to defend its territory despite systematic Israeli expansion
BEIRUT: Lebanon is determined to defend its territory and sovereignty, interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday.
“I will do it without hesitation, no matter how much sacrifice is required,” he said.
Mikati described the local situation as “worrisome” and signaled an elevated risk level.
“There is absolutely no sign that Israel's arrogance will stop,” he said.
Mikati met with senior Lebanese military commanders and warned that “regional developments are concerning”.
He stressed that the army was “a firm guarantee of the unity of Lebanon, its territory, people and institutions, and it is a national duty for everyone to unite around the army institutions.”
In response to Israel's continued and serious escalation, Mikati said, “We affirm our right to defend our lands, sovereignty and dignity using all available means.”
He said he had conveyed to “friendly and brotherly countries” that “we stand for peace, not war.”
“We seek permanent stability through Israel's commitment to implement all provisions of UN Resolution 1701. No Israeli aggression will deter us from that.”
Mikati stressed the importance of deploying troops in cooperation with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon to prevent violations of “internationally recognized borders”, which are essential to ensuring stability and security for the people of the south.
“Our right to exploit the resources of our waters is 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 of the non-permanent members in Lebanon (Algeria, Japan, Switzerland and South Korea).
The meeting comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which reached a climax on Tuesday with the assassination of senior Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in a central suburb of Beirut's south.
Mikati's media office said the gathered ambassadors affirmed Lebanon's “commitment to implementing UN resolutions, particularly Resolution 1701, as a top priority in the region.”
Lebanon also complained to the UN Security Council over Israel's invasion of Beirut's southern suburbs.
The report found that Israel's dangerous escalation affected densely populated areas in violation of international law and the UN Charter.
In the southern Israeli city of Shama, a funeral procession was held Thursday night for a Syrian mother and her three children, Fatima Al-Aza Al-Haj and her sons Suleiman, Mohammed and Ahmed Al-Haj, who lost their home in an Israeli airstrike.
The death toll of Syrian civilians killed in fighting in the south 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 vowed to respond to Shukr's assassination at his funeral Thursday evening.
He said Israel should “expect vengeance from the honorable” and that “we have entered a new phase on all fronts of support (for Hamas in Gaza)”.
He said Israel had “crossed a red line and had no idea what kind of aggression it had committed.”
The Israeli military launched airstrikes on Friday and shelled the border towns of Rab el-Talatin, Dayra and Blithe, as well as the outskirts of Nakurah and Tair Harfa.
Hezbollah has announced a series of targets that fall within its rules of engagement.
The operation aimed to bombard Israeli soldiers in the Dayra, Al-Samaka and Bayad Blida areas on Kfar Chuba Hill in occupied Lebanon.
After Israel attacked Shama, the party fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at the Matsuba settlement.
