Mikati: Not in Anyone’s Interest to Open South Lebanon Front

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati receives French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Beirut on Monday. (AFP)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati receives French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Beirut on Monday. (AFP)
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Mikati: Not in Anyone’s Interest to Open South Lebanon Front

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati receives French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Beirut on Monday. (AFP)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati receives French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Beirut on Monday. (AFP)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has intensified his contacts with international and regional officials to preserve Lebanon’s stability and avoid the eruption of a war with Israel.

He stressed that it was in “no one’s interest to take a gamble and open the southern Lebanon front because the Lebanese people can no longer support more burdens.”

He held separate talks in Beirut on Monday with visiting French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and Saudi Ambassador Waleed Bukhari.

During the meetings, Mikati stressed that the Lebanese people are united in supporting the Palestinian people.

He reiterated his rejection of a war erupting between Lebanon and Israel, warning that Lebanon was in “the eye of the storm” and the entire region was in a “difficult position.”

“No one can predict what may happen,” he added. “No one can predict anything, but Israel will certainly increase its provocations.”

Mikati revealed that he has held contacts with the American administration, United Nations chief, the French and Turkish presidents, the Italian and Qatari prime ministers, and the foreign ministers, Jordan, Britain, Canada and Türkiye, who is expected in Lebanon on Tuesday.

Mikati said the talks were being held away from the media to avoid raising more concerns among the people.

“Some have wondered why we haven’t called for the High Defense Council to convene. The council is headed by the president of the republic. Should we create even more tensions in the country?” he wondered given that Lebanon has been without a president for almost a year.

“Instead, I called on the heads of security agencies to meet at cabinet,” he went on to say.

The PM renewed his call for the election of a president, noting that Israel formed a new government within hours of the Hamas operation, “so the Lebanese parties should unite to elect a head of state and form a new government to demonstrate their keenness on the nation’s interests.”

“Is there anything more dangerous than the current situation to prompt everyone to abandon their conditions and elect a new president as soon as possible?” he asked.

“Some have wondered who holds the decision to go to war. In the current circumstances, we are working for peace. The decision to go to war lies with Israel. We must deter its provocations and prevent tensions,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, opponents of Hezbollah have continued to underline their rejection of dragging Lebanon to war with Israel.

Kataeb MP Elias Hankash said Hezbollah “has the final say over the fate of the country and it controls the decision to go to war.”

“Lebanon is on the edge of the abyss because the state does not have this power. Hezbollah has destroyed the state, sovereignty and institutions,” he added to local radio.

The fate of Lebanon and the Lebanese lies in Hezbollah’s hands. “We are confronted with a historic moment and Lebanon is incapable of taking the appropriate decisions to impose its authority and deploy its army in all its territories to prevent it from being dragged to war with Israel,” he lamented.



Continued Israeli Incursions in South Lebanon: A Bid to Create New Realities on the Ground

Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
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Continued Israeli Incursions in South Lebanon: A Bid to Create New Realities on the Ground

Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 

South Lebanon is witnessing an escalating series of military operations, marked by repeated Israeli ground incursions and extensive bulldozing along the border.

The latest incidents have unfolded in the Marjayoun district and around the Wadi Hunin area, where Israeli military vehicles advanced more than 800 meters into Lebanese territory. According to analysts, these moves signal an effort to entrench a security presence that reflects “an advanced strategy to impose a new status quo along the frontier.”

On Friday, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli army bulldozers, protected by tanks stationed nearby, crossed the boundary at Wadi Hunin and moved towards a landfill south of the town of Adaisseh. The forces sealed off a road and erected earthen barriers, prompting heightened alert from the Lebanese side.

Separately, an Israeli patrol breached the withdrawal line in the outskirts of Kfar Shouba - penetrating 400 meters into Lebanese territory - and fired shots at shepherds without causing injuries.

The incursions did not stop there. Residents of Blida also reported a fresh advance of over 800 meters. Meanwhile, Israeli troops detonated a civilian structure in the Ghassouna area east of Adaisseh, using incendiary and stun grenades that sowed panic among local families.

In parallel, Israeli aerial attacks have intensified. On Friday, an Israeli drone struck a car traveling on the Nmeiriyeh–Sharqiyyeh road in Nabatieh district, killing one person and injuring five others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed. The attack underscores the widening scope of targets, reaching deeper into southern Lebanon and extending beyond military sites to include civilian vehicles.

Another drone dropped a bomb on a small transport truck in the border town of Kfar Kila, causing material damage but no casualties. Such incidents have become a recurring pattern in the ongoing escalation.

Adding to the strain on civilians, an entire house in Kfar Kila was blown up after being rigged with explosives. In Meiss El Jabal, Israeli forces destroyed a newly renovated tile factory last week, as part of what Israeli spokesmen described as “special operations” targeting weapons depots and infrastructure allegedly tied to Hezbollah in locations including Labouneh and Jabal Balat.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated on Wednesday that the operations were based on intelligence gathering and surveillance of “Hezbollah’s combat means and terrorist infrastructure.” He added that special units were working to dismantle these networks to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its positions along the border. Adraee also released nighttime video footage showing Israeli infantry operating deep inside southern Lebanon.

A Systematic Effort to Empty the Border

Military analyst Brigadier General Naji Malaeb described these incursions as “part of a systematic plan to reshape the situation on the border.” He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israeli ground advances typically coincide with major diplomatic developments - whether a US envoy arriving in Beirut or Israeli delegations traveling to Washington.

“Every time there is a significant diplomatic event, we see coordinated maneuvers - airstrikes, artillery shelling, or limited ground incursions targeting civilian or logistical sites,” Malaeb noted.

He argued that Israel’s consistent pattern of targeting rebuilt homes and small businesses reveals a clear message: preventing displaced residents from returning. “Whenever villagers attempt to repair their homes or revive their livelihoods, the response is immediate,” he said, citing a recent case in Aitaroun where Israeli troops demolished a factory that had been reconstructed inside a residence.

“This is no longer just a violation of Lebanese sovereignty or UN Resolution 1701,” Malaeb concluded. “It has evolved into a deliberate strategy to depopulate the border strip and impose new facts on the ground, creating, in effect, a buffer zone through indirect means.”