By Wassim Saifuldine
BEIRUT (AA) – Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned on Tuesday Israel's “destructive approach” in the Gaza Strip as “unprecedented in history.”
“Israel’s destructive approach in Gaza is unprecedented in history, and we experience it daily in southern Lebanon,” Mikati said in a speech at an emergency aid conference for Gaza, hosted by Jordan.
He said Israeli attacks have turned southern Lebanon into “scorched earth” as an extension of Tel Aviv’s destructive plans in Gaza.
The Lebanese premier said the Israeli assault in southern Lebanon has caused massive damage to educational, health, developmental, and agricultural facilities, as well as livestock and crops.
He called on the international community to “intervene with full force” to end 75 years of neglecting Palestinian rights.
Mikati hoped that Monday’s UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza would be “a modest first step towards stability.”
The resolution, passed with 14 votes and Russia’s abstention, supports a Gaza cease-fire proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden.
On May 31, Biden said that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.
The border tension comes amid an Israeli military onslaught in the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 37,200 people since a major attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio