Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday condemned Israel’s “expansion” of its attacks on his country, asserting that these actions demonstrated a refusal to engage in efforts to negotiate a truce after over a month of conflict.
“The Israeli enemy’s renewed expansion of the scope of its aggression on Lebanese regions, its repeated threats to the population to evacuate entire cities and villages, and its renewed targeting of the southern suburbs of Beirut with destructive raids, are all indicators that confirm the Israeli enemy’s rejection of all efforts being made to secure a ceasefire,” AFP quoted Mikati as saying in a statement after overnight raids hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, in the first such attack this week.
Mikati’s statement followed a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting US officials, where they discussed a potential agreement to end the war in Lebanon.
The Lebanese prime minister said that Israel’s diplomatic actions indicated a refusal to accept a ceasefire.
“Israeli statements and diplomatic signals that Lebanon received confirm Israel’s stubbornness in rejecting the proposed solutions and insisting on the approach of killing and destruction,” Mikati said in a statement.
Since fighting in Lebanon intensified on September 23, at least 1,829 people have lost their lives, according to an AFP tally based on health ministry figures.
On Wednesday, Mikati mentioned that US envoy Amos Hochstein indicated in a phone call that a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict could be achievable before the U.S. elections on November 5.
On the same day, Hezbollah’s new leader expressed the group’s willingness to agree to a ceasefire with Israel under acceptable conditions, but noted that a viable proposal has yet to be offered.
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