Lebanon's prime minister cancels trip to UN General Assembly after Israeli attacks – News

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday he had cancelled a trip to the United Nations General Assembly and condemned “cruel massacres” after deadly attacks in Lebanon blamed on Israel.

Mikati said in a statement that he had canceled his trip “in light of developments related to Israeli aggression against Lebanon,” following an Israeli raid on Beirut's southern suburbs and attacks on Hezbollah equipment this week, for which Israel was blamed.

It should be recalled that, according to a source close to AFP, hundreds of Hezbollah members were injured across Lebanon on Tuesday when pagers exploded.

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The incident was the first of its kind since Hezbollah began exchanging gunfire with Israel almost daily in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian militia's October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

An attack on Hezbollah's stronghold in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday killed eight people and injured dozens more. A source close to the movement said a senior military leader was dead.

The Israeli military said it carried out a “targeted attack,” while the Lebanese Health Ministry said eight people were killed and 59 others injured in the attack.

On Friday, Israel said it had attacked Lebanon's Hezbollah, just hours after the group's leader vowed retaliation for deadly explosions on its communications equipment that killed 37 people and injured thousands.