Lebanon condemns Israeli bombings in Syria

BEIRUT — Lebanon condemned on Sunday evening the Israeli bombing of the Shayrat military complex in Syria, as well as the violation of its airspace, as Israeli fighter jets flew over the country at low altitude, raising fears and concerns among residents.

In a tweet, the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it "condemns the Israeli bombing targeting the airport of Shayrat in Syria which caused many deaths and injuries, as well as material damage." It also expressed "its full solidarity with the Syrian Arab Republic."

The Shayrat military complex has recently been used by the Iranian air force and has reportedly undergone a major expansion by the Russian military over the past three years. Israel has stepped up its strikes on Syrian airports and air bases in recent months in an effort to disrupt Tehran's increasing use of supply airlines to deliver weapons to its allies in Syria and Lebanon.

"These aggressions are a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions, as well as a violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon and its airspace by Israeli warplanes," the tweet also said, thereby linking Sunday's bombings to the passage of fighter jets heard across Lebanon. These attacks "directly threaten civilian navigation in the Lebanese sky, as well as international peace and security," continued the ministry, according to which Lebanon will reserve the right to file a complaint against Israel at the United Nations in New York as soon as all the security data is collected.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday morning discussed with United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission head Aroldo Lázaro "the importance" of stopping Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, a day after Lebanon again experienced violations of its airspace by its southern neighbor.

In a tweet, the prime minister's Twitter account said that Mikati emphasized to Lázaro "the importance of stopping Israeli violations of Lebanon's sovereignty and implementing 1701," the UN resolution that ended the war between Lebanon and Israel in 2006.

Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace are almost daily. Over the period from 2007 to December 2021, no fewer than 22,111 Israeli fighter aircraft overflights in the Lebanese sky were recorded, according to Airpressure.info, a website specialized in documenting these violations. The Israeli air force regularly targets Syria via the Lebanese sky.