Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday he had cancelled a trip to the United Nations General Assembly and decried “horrific massacres” after deadly attacks in Lebanon blamed on Israel.
Mikati said in a statement that he cancelled his trip “in light of the developments linked to the Israeli aggression on Lebanon”, after this week saw an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs and attacks on Hezbollah devices blamed on Israel.
It can be recalled that exploding pagers injured hundreds of Hezbollah members across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to a source close to AFP.
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The incident was the first of its kind since Hezbollah began trading near-daily fire with Israel in support of ally Hamas after the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.
A strike on Hezbollah’s stronghold in Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Friday killed eight people and wounded dozens of others, with a source close to the movement saying a top military leader was dead.
The Israeli military said it had conducted a “targeted strike”, while the Lebanese health ministry said the attack had killed eight people and wounded 59 more.
On Friday, Israel said it pounded Lebanon’s Hezbollah, just hours after the group’s leader vowed retribution for deadly explosions that targeted its communication devices, killing 37 people and wounding thousands.
Meanwhile, Israeli public broadcaster Kan said on Friday around 150 rockets were fired from Lebanon across the border.