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‘Silence is compliance and approval of what Israel is doing’
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati is saying that Beirut is ready to strengthen the Lebanese army’s position in the southern part of the country.
And he also made a plea to the international community. He said that Israel’s actions should be a wake-up call for everyone within the international community that silence is compliance and approval of what Israel is doing.
This is not the first time we’ve heard these from the caretaker prime minister, really reiterating that the only way forward is for the United Nations Security Council to pressure Israel to return to that Resolution 1701 that came into being in 2006 after the war between Israel and Hezbollah ended.
And that resolution is really the only diplomatic solution on the table at the moment. There is no other way forward.
Hezbollah media chief slams Israeli ‘justifications’ for attacking civilian targets
Hezbollah’s media chief, Mohammed Afif, held a news conference in Beirut, where he railed against Israel for its attacks and criticised local and foreign media that he said are lending credence to the killings.
He confirmed Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers, civilians, residential areas, hospitals and medical staff, and slammed the “excuses” and justifications the Israeli military uses to keep hitting them, including saying they contain weapons and explosives.
“Some media outlets, including global international outlets, cannot dare address the Israelis and tell them openly you are killing unarmed, defenceless innocent civilians,” he said.
He said Israeli claims are part of its “psychological warfare” on Hezbollah and the Lebanese people, and also criticised the government for “not even lifting a finger” amid the Israeli attacks.
“The Israeli army continues to bombard residential areas and kill civilians, under the false pretext that these are weapons depots. The Israelis are even targeting Dahiyeh with bombs saying there are weapons there. Above all, they impede and deny the civil defence and paramedics access to the areas.”
Hezbollah denies report about a ‘new military command’
Hezbollah has rejected a report by the Reuters news agency that cites an unnamed field commander and another source close to the group as saying a new centralised command structure is allowing the group to carry out attacks against Israel despite the killing of its top leaders.
“This report is nothing more than the imagination of Reuters writers, journalists and security consultants, and certainly what it attributed to a field commander in Hezbollah is completely false,” the group said in a statement.
“Our policy, as has become known and may be necessary to emphasise again, is that there are no sources in Hezbollah, let alone a field commander, that would provide such dangerous information attributed to him.”
Reuters claimed that the Lebanese group is now firing rockets and fighting according to centrally issued orders, and is planning to wage a war of attrition.
After Blinken call, powerful Lebanese Shia politician says Israel committing ‘crimes’
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri – also head of the Amal Movement, Lebanon’s other major Shia political party aside from Hezbollah – has commented on Israel’s attacks on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, saying its actions amount to a “crime”.
These comments come a short time after Berri received a call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Here are a few of his other key points:
- My deepest condolences to all Lebanese, to the families of the martyrs whose blood was shed throughout the south, in the suburbs, the Bekaa, the capital Beirut and Mount Lebanon.
- My condolences also go to the Lebanese army, which today offered more sacrifices, martyrs and wounded, in the march of sacrifice and loyalty for the sake of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
- What happened yesterday and today in terms of targeting UNIFIL forces and Lebanese army soldiers by Israel and its aggressive machine is a crime and is not only condemned and denounced, but it is also, and before anything else, a clear and explicit aggression and assassination attempt against UN Resolution 1701.
- We present it to the international community, which has time to move and wake up to put an end to the war of extermination that Israel is waging against Lebanon, against humanity and against everything related to the rules of ethics, humanity and international legitimacy.
- Mercy to the martyrs, civilians and soldiers, and prayers for a speedy recovery for the wounded. May God protect Lebanon.
