Mikati denounces 'silent international community' at UN

Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday denounced "a silent international community" in the face of developments in the offensive led by Israel in Lebanon, which has intensified since Sept. 23. The head of government met in turn with the five ambassadors in Beirut of the permanent member countries of the U.N. Security Council: China, the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.

Mikati held a series of meetings, alongside outgoing Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, with the five ambassadors and also with European Union Ambassador Sandra de Waal. He also met with Lebanese Army Commander Joseph Aoun on the ongoing investigation into the kidnapping case in Batroun by Israeli naval commandos.

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'Maximum pressure'

"The persistence of the Israeli enemy in its aggression against Lebanon and in the crimes and destruction it commits is permitted by a silent international community, while these countries defending human rights should exert maximum pressure on Israel so that its aggression ceases," Mikati castigated to the ambassadors of the five aforementioned countries, in remarks reported by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

Mikati said he had provided the ambassadors with a report from the Ministry of Health on the damage caused by the Israeli strikes in the health sector. As for the representative of the European Union, de Waal, she said the need for an "immediate cease-fire" between Hezbollah and Israel, which have been fighting since Oct. 8, 2023 on the southern border of Lebanon.

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Support for military enlistment

Mikati also noted that his government "is committed to Resolution 1701" of the U.N. Security Council (which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah), as well as to the strengthening of the Lebanese army. He promised that a future session of the cabinet would address the enlistment of 1,500 people in the Lebanese army, while a previous session had resulted in the announcement of a reinforced presence of troops in south Lebanon.

"The enemy has sabotaged all proposed solutions and continued its war crimes against several Lebanese regions, including historical sites, which constitutes an additional crime against humanity that must be stopped," added the head of the outgoing government. Mikati insisted that the archaeological sites of Baalbeck and Sour represent "priceless treasures" and "are considered world historical monuments," listed as UNESCO heritage sites.

The UNESCO special committee on the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict is scheduled to meet on Nov. 18 for an extraordinary session devoted to Lebanon, to call for "enhanced protection" of Lebanese sites listed as UNESCO heritage sites. Several of these sites have been damaged and threatened by Israeli strikes.

This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le J0ur.