Lebanon has right to defend its land amid systematic Israeli escalation, Mikati tells army officers

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during an interview with Reuters at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, October 14, 2021. (REUTERS)
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Updated 02 August 2024
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Lebanon has right to defend its land amid systematic Israeli escalation, Mikati tells army officers

  • Hezbollah artillery breaks silence, targets Israeli military sites
  • Israeli airstrike kills mother and 3 children

BEIRUT: Lebanon is determined to defend its land and sovereignty, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday.

“We will not hesitate to do so, no matter the sacrifices,” he said.

Mikati described the regional developments as “worrisome,” signaling increased danger levels.

He said that “nothing indicates that Israeli arrogance will stop.”

Mikati met with senior officers in the Lebanese army command and cautioned that “the regional developments are concerning.”

He stressed that the army “remains the firm guarantee for the unity of Lebanon, its territory, people, and establishments, making it a national obligation for everyone to unite around the army institution.”

Mikati said that in response to the ongoing and severe Israeli escalation, “we affirm our right to defend our land, sovereignty, and dignity using all available means.”

He stated that he had informed “friendly and brotherly countries that we are advocates of peace, not war.

“We seek permanent stability through Israel’s commitment to implementing UN Resolution 1701 in all its provisions. No Israeli aggression will deter us from that.”

Mikati emphasized 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 essential for ensuring stability and security for the people in the south.”

He added: “Our right to utilize the resources in our waters is absolute and not open to negotiation.”

Mikati also met with the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the US, France, the UK, China, and Russia) and the representatives of the non-permanent member states present in Lebanon (Algeria, Japan, Switzerland, and South Korea).

The meeting came against the backdrop of escalating confrontations between Israel and Hezbollah, which reached their peak on Tuesday with the assassination of senior Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in the heart of the southern suburb of Beirut.

Mikati’s media office stated that the assembled ambassadors affirmed Lebanon’s “commitment to implementing UN resolutions, especially Resolution 1701, as a top priority in the region.”

Lebanon has also filed a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel for its aggression against the southern suburb of Beirut.

It said Israel’s dangerous escalation affected a densely populated residential area in violation of international law and the UN Charter.

In the southern town of Shamaa, 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 Syrian civilians who have been killed during the confrontations in the south since Oct. 8 has risen to 18.

The airstrike coincided with Hezbollah holding the funeral procession for Shukr in the southern suburb of Beirut.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Thursday evening during Shukr’s funeral to respond to his assassination.

He said that Israel “should expect the revenge of the honorable” and that “we have entered a new phase on all support fronts (for Hamas in the Gaza Strip).”

He said Israel “has crossed red lines and has no idea of the kind of aggression it has committed.”

The Israeli army on Friday launched airstrikes 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 series of targets that were within the rules of engagement.

It targeted the deployment of 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 launched dozens of Katyusha rockets on the Matzuva settlement in the wake of the Israeli attack on Shamaa.

 


UAE president, Qatar emir review regional developments in Abu Dhabi

Updated 3 sec ago
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UAE president, Qatar emir review regional developments in Abu Dhabi

  • Leaders discussed efforts to address the latest developments in the Middle East

LONDON: The president of the UAE and the emir of Qatar discussed bilateral ties during a meeting at Qasr Al-Shati in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest, focusing particularly on the latest developments in the Middle East and sharing insights on efforts to address them.

The leaders explored ways to boost cooperation for the benefit and prosperity of both nations, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Several senior officials and ministers attended the meeting, including Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi and national security adviser, and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.


Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 16, including 3 children

Updated 5 min ago
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Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 16, including 3 children

GAZA: Gaza’s civil defense agency on Sunday said Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory killed 16 people, including at least three children.
Six people were killed in overnight air strikes in Khan Yunis governorate, in the south of the Gaza Strip, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said. They included two boys aged five and two, in an apartment in Al-Mawasi.
The civil defense later said 10 more people were killed in a strike on a tent also in Al-Mawasi, among them a child and seven women.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond for comment when contact by AFP. A spokesperson said they were gathering details.
A military statement issued in the morning said the army had “struck more than 100 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip” during the past two days.
It said soldiers found “weapons caches” and killed “a number of terrorists” in the south.
Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a two-month truce in its war against Hamas, which was triggered by the Palestinian militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Sunday said at least 2,436 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in Gaza, bringing the war’s overall death toll to 52,535.
Israel halted aid deliveries to Gaza, saying Hamas had diverted supplies. Israel says the blockade is meant to pressure the militants into releasing hostages held in the Palestinian territory.
UN agencies have urged Israel to lift restrictions, saying Gazans have been experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe and warning of famine.

Lebanon holds local polls in first vote since Israel-Hezbollah war

Updated 55 min 24 sec ago
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Lebanon holds local polls in first vote since Israel-Hezbollah war

BEIRUT: Lebanon on Sunday began the first stage of long-delayed municipal elections, the first vote since a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah and after a new national government was formed.
Polls opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) for voters in the Mount Lebanon district, a heavily populated area with mixed political and religious affiliations that includes Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that was heavily damaged by Israeli strikes.
“We have come to exercise our right and have our voices heard,” said Hashem Shamas, 39, a Hezbollah supporter, after voting in south Beirut’s Shiyah neighborhood.
According to the interior ministry, 9,321 candidates including 1,179 women are running in the Mount Lebanon district.
Lebanon is supposed to hold municipal elections every six years, but cash-strapped authorities last held a local ballot in 2016.
President Joseph Aoun emphasized the vote’s importance to “give confidence to the people and internationally that Lebanon is rebuilding its institutions and is back on the right track.”
Aoun was elected in January and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed a government the following month, ending a more than two-year vacuum as Lebanon’s balance of power shifted following the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The new authorities have promised reforms in order to gain the trust of the international community, as well as unlock billions in bail-out funds amid a five-year economic crisis. They have also vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms.
Hezbollah was left badly weakened in more than a year of hostilities with Israel, with a slew of commanders including the group’s longtime chief, Hassan Nasrallah, killed and its strongholds pummelled in the south and east and in south Beirut.
Israel has continued to strike targets in Lebanon despite a ceasefire and still has troops in five areas it considers “strategic.”
In April 2024, the municipal polls were postponed amid the hostilities, which escalated in September into a major Israeli bombing campaign and ground incursion before the ceasefire about two months later.
Aoun urged voters not to let sectarian, “partisan or financial factors” impact their vote.
Religious and political affiliations are usually key electoral considerations in multi-confessional Lebanon, where power is shared along sectarian lines.
Municipal ballots however provide a greater margin for local community dynamics to play a role.
Polls are set to close at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Areas of northern Lebanon will vote on May 11, with Beirut and the country’s eastern Bekaa Valley area set to go to the polls on May 18, while voters in the heavily damaged south will cast ballots on May 24.


Lebanese army says Hamas handed over suspect in missile launches toward Israel

Updated 04 May 2025
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Lebanese army says Hamas handed over suspect in missile launches toward Israel

CAIRO: The Lebanese army said on Sunday that Hamas handed over a suspect involved in launching missiles towards Israel in March, days after Lebanon warned the Palestinian group not to conduct operations that compromise Lebanese security or sovereignty.


UAE to lift Lebanon travel ban on May 7

Updated 04 May 2025
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UAE to lift Lebanon travel ban on May 7

  • UAE will lift a ban for its citizens traveling to Lebanon as of May 7, 2025

DUBAI: The UAE Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that it will lift a ban on its citizens traveling to Lebanon as of May 7, 2025, following a visit by the Lebanese head of state last week, according to WAM News Agency. 

The decision comes after a joint statement issued on Thursday, announcing that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed agreed to implement measures to facilitate travel and improve movement between the two countries.

The UAE banned its citizens from traveling to Lebanon in 2021. Lebanese citizens were not banned from traveling to the UAE.