Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Sunday that his government is working on stopping Israeli attacks and preventing the spread of war to Lebanon.
Since the start of the conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7, at least 30 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 20 Hezbollah fighters and civilians such as Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah.
All eyes are now on how Hezbollah and its ally Iran will react to a possible Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. There are fears that this could drag Lebanon and others into a regional war.
While receiving visitors at the Grand Serail, Mikati said that the government is "continuing its diplomatic and internal contacts in order to stop the Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and to prevent the spread of the Gaza war to Lebanon," the state-run National News Agency reported.
"I understand the feelings of fear and anxiety that afflict the Lebanese as a result of what is happening, and the calls of a number of embassies for their citizens to leave Lebanon, but I will not hesitate to make every effort to protect Lebanon," said Mikati.
In the last few days, several countries, notably the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Ukraine, Sweden, Russia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and Germany, have asked their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately or to avoid traveling there.
Airport and MEA
Mikati noted that he is reassured that "Lebanon's friends" are making efforts to restore the security situation and prevent it from developing for the worse, adding that the government's meetings and preparations to put an emergency plan in place is an essential preventive step taken out of caution.
He added that the measures taken at the airport and by Middle East Airlines (MEA) are also out of caution, saying that the government did not "receive any data indicating that any serious matter may happen at the airport."
On Oct. 20, the CEO of Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines Mohammad al-Hout said that the company will cancel more than half of its flights as a result of changes in insurance.
"God willing, the exceptional measures [at the airport] will be for a short period after which the situation will return back to normal," he said.
Finally, Mikati called on the Lebanese people to trust that the government is continuing to make the required effort to ensure peace for Lebanon.