Wassim Seif El Din
16 October 2023•Update: 16 October 2023
BEIRUT
Lebanon's prime minister on Monday said that no party is interested in opening a new fighting front from southern Lebanon.
“No one has an interest in undertaking a war adventure by opening a war front in southern Lebanon because the Lebanese are unable to bear it,” Najib Mikati said in a meeting with local officials, according to the state news agency NNA.
“The region as a whole is in a difficult situation, and no one can predict what might happen … But what is certain is that Israel is seeking to increase its provocations,” he added.
He confirmed that his government is in contact with several “concerned actors” to keep the situation calm in Lebanon and to distance "from the repercussions of the ongoing war in Gaza."
Lebanese group Hezbollah, and the Israeli army have intermittently exchanged fire since the outbreak of fighting in Gaza on Oct. 7.
Ten days into the conflict with Palestinian group Hamas, Israeli bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over 1 million people – almost half the total population of Gaza – having been displaced, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Gaza is experiencing a dire humanitarian crisis with no electricity, while water, food, fuel and medical supplies are running out, as civilians flee to the south following Israeli warning to evacuate northern areas.
The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has risen to 2,750, including 750 children.
In Israel, 1,300 have been killed.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Istanbul
