In Munich, Mikati decries Israel's 'crime against humanity'
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday reiterated that Lebanon “will remain committed to all U.N. resolutions,” stressing that Israel should “implement these resolutions, halt its aggression against the South and violations of Lebanese sovereignty, and withdraw from all occupied Lebanese territories.”
“As Lebanon emphasizes the need for stability in the region and urges all parties to refrain from escalation, we find Israel carrying on with its aggression, which pushed us to ask about the steps that the international community has taken to halt this continued aggression,” Mikati said in a speech at the opening session of the 60th edition of the Munich Security Conference.
Referring to the Israeli airstrikes that killed 10 civilians in south Lebanon on Wednesday mostly women and children, Mikati said “the killing and targeting of innocent children, women and elderly people is a crime against humanity.”
Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging near-daily fire across the border since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7. Wednesday was the bloodiest day in more than four months of cross-border exchanges, with 10 civilians and five Hezbollah members including a commander killed.
The cross-border exchanges have killed at least 268 people on the Lebanese side, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also 40 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, 10 soldiers and six civilians have been killed, according to the Israeli army.
The fighting has also displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border and Israel has repeatedly warned that it might use force against Hezbollah to secure their return amid ongoing indirect negotiations over a political solution.
Source: Naharnet
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