Lebanese Prime Minister calls on international community to condemn Israeli ‘massacre’

BEIRUT

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the international community on Saturday to take a clear stance on the “horrific Israeli massacres” in Lebanon.

“I planned to travel to New York during the UN General Assembly as part of Lebanon's intensification of diplomatic efforts to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the massacres committed by the enemy,” Mikati said in a statement.

“In view of the developments related to the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, I have decided to cancel my trip,” he added.

“There is currently no higher priority than ending the massacres committed by the Israeli enemy and the numerous wars it is waging,” Mikati reiterated.

The Lebanese Prime Minister called on “the international community and human conscience to take a clear stance on these cruel massacres and to enact international laws to protect civilian technological means from attacks.”

At least 37 people, including children and women, were killed and dozens injured in a deadly Israeli airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut on Friday.

Hezbollah confirmed that at least 16 of its members were killed in the Israeli attack, including its leader Ibrahim Aqil and its commander-in-chief Ahmed Wahbi.

The attack came two days after two waves of wireless communications equipment explosions across Lebanon killed at least 39 people and injured more than 3,000 others.

While the Lebanese government and Hezbollah blame Israel for the explosions, Tel Aviv has neither denied nor confirmed its involvement.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in a cross-border war since the start of Israel's war on Gaza. The war left nearly 41,400 people, mostly women and children, dead following a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7 last year.

*Written by Rania Abu Shamala

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