Lebanese PM Slams Int’l Community’s ‘Silence over Israeli Crimes’

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson in Beirut. (Government office)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson in Beirut. (Government office)
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Lebanese PM Slams Int’l Community’s ‘Silence over Israeli Crimes’

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson in Beirut. (Government office)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson in Beirut. (Government office)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati slammed on Monday the international community’s “silence over Israel’s crimes and destruction” in his country.

“The international community is complicit in these crimes when countries that champion humanity and human rights should be applying maximum pressure on Israel to make it stop its assault,” he added during meetings held with the ambassadors of the five permanent member states of the United Nations Security Council.

Mikati handed the ambassadors a report by the Health Ministry detailing the damage incurred by the sector from the Israeli raids.

He noted the threats to “priceless cultural heritage” in the cities of Tyre and Baalbek as a result of Israel’s attacks.

Moreover, he reiterated his government’s commitment to Security Council resolution 1701 and its determination to deploy the army in the South.

“It has welcomed every call for a ceasefire, while the Israeli enemy has turned against all proposed solutions and forged ahead in committing war crimes against Lebanon, even reaching its historic sites. These attacks are additional crimes against humanity that should be confronted and stopped,” he urged.

The PM underscored the need for pressure to end the assault to pave the way for talks over how to implement resolution 1701.

Furthermore, he said the government had approved during a recent meeting increasing the presence of army in the South and recruiting more troops. In its next meeting, the ministers will discuss the executive steps to support the recruitment of 1,500 soldiers.

Mikati met with US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson, UK Chargé D'Affaires Victoria Dunne, Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Aleksandr Rudakov, China’s Ambassador Qian Minjian, French Ambassador Herve Magro, and Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze.



Israeli Strike Wounds a Hospital Chief in Besieged Northern Gaza, Health Officials Say

A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Israeli Strike Wounds a Hospital Chief in Besieged Northern Gaza, Health Officials Say

A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

An Israeli strike has wounded the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza, local and international health officials said.

Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya was in his office when it was hit by an Israeli quadcopter drone on Sunday, according to the humanitarian organization MedGlobal.

The doctor was wounded by shrapnel in his thigh and back, causing serious bleeding that requires surgical care, the aid group said. Abu Safiya is the lead physician in Gaza for MedGlobal, which has worked in Gaza since 2018.

Dr. Munir al-Boursh, director general of Gaza's Health Ministry, posted a video to social media on Monday showing Abu Safiya limping and leaning on a crutch while speaking to patients inside the hospital.

The Israeli military said it was unaware of a strike on the grounds of Kamal Adwan Hospital and said it does its utmost to avoid harming civilians.

During the past month, Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit several times, was put under siege and was raided by Israeli troops, who are waging a heavy offensive in the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp and towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya. The Israeli military says it detained Hamas fighters hiding in the hospital, a claim its staff denies.

Abu Safiya said Israeli strikes on the hospital last week wounded nine medical staff and damaged the generator and oxygen systems. He said the hospital was treating 85 wounded, 14 children in the pediatric ward and four newborns in the neonatal unit.

Israel also denied knowledge of conducting any strikes on in the area of the hospital at that time.