Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati presiding over an emergency ministerial committee meeting at his home in Beirut, Aug. 25, 2024. Photo provided by our correspondent Hoda Chedid
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated that he is engaging in "contacts with Lebanon's friends to halt the escalation" during an emergency ministerial committee meeting held at his Beirut home on the morning of Aug. 25, 2024, following the Hezbollah response to the Israeli assassination of its military chief, Fouad Chokor.
In a statement from the Grand Serail reported by our correspondent Hoda Chedid, Mikati affirmed that he is working with Lebanon’s allies to stop the escalation, emphasizing that the most urgent task is to "stop the Israeli aggression and implement U.N. Resolution 1701," which marked the end of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. Mikati also stressed that Lebanon supports "international efforts that could lead to a cease-fire in Gaza."
A high-level government source told L’Orient-Le Jour that the emergency committee meeting on Sunday reviewed Lebanon's preparedness to face Israeli attacks. "Everything is proceeding according to the government's established plan," the source assured, noting that the Prime Minister is conducting diplomatic contacts to curb the escalation.
According to the Grand Serail, the meeting focused on the situation in the South, emergency services related to health, shelters, food, fuel, and the status of emergency cells in the regions, as well as the results of contacts with concerned international organizations and civil society groups that are partners in implementing the government's emergency plan.
Hezbollah launched what it called "the first response" on Sunday morning to the death of Fouad Shukur, one of the party's leaders, in the southern suburbs of Beirut in late July. The party announced that the operation was over. Its Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
