Lebanon – Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned on Friday of “the rising level of danger and its expansion from one region to another” following recent regional developments that he described as “worrying.”
This came in a statement by Mikati during his visit to the army command headquarters in the Yarzeh area, east of the capital Beirut, on the occasion of Army Day, which falls on August 1 of each year, according to a statement issued by his office.
Mikati said, according to the statement: “What is embittering the country are the security conditions that Lebanon is experiencing (…) in addition to the worrying regional developments that warn of an increase in the level of danger and its expansion from one region to another.”
He continued: “We are facing a systematic and dangerous Israeli escalation, of which we have witnessed bloody chapters during the past few hours.”
Mikati reiterated Lebanon’s right to defend its land, sovereignty and dignity with “all available means,” adding: “There is no hesitation in this choice, no matter how great the sacrifices.”
He pointed out that his government informed “brotherly and friendly countries that we are advocates of peace and not advocates of war,” according to the statement.
He pointed out that his government seeks to achieve permanent stability “by reclaiming the occupied parts of southern Lebanon”, and Israel’s commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in all its provisions, stressing that “the attacks will not deter them from doing so.”
On Tuesday evening, Israel assassinated the prominent leader of the Lebanese factions movement, Fouad Shukr, in an air strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian factions and Iran announced the assassination of Haniyeh, on Wednesday morning, in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his residence in the capital, Tehran, the day after his participation in the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
While Israel claimed responsibility for Shukr’s assassination, it remained silent about Haniyeh’s assassination, but its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at Tel Aviv’s responsibility for the latter’s assassination.
The Palestinian factions and Iran vowed to respond to Haniyeh’s assassination, and the Lebanese factions also vowed to respond to Shukr’s assassination, while international contacts and efforts to calm the situation continue, for fear of the conflict expanding in the region.
Anatolia
#Mikati #Regional #developments #warn #spread #danger #region
2024-08-03 19:57:56