Mikati Says 'Danger is Threatening Us,’ 3 Days of National Mourning Announced for Nasrallah

A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
TT

Mikati Says 'Danger is Threatening Us,’ 3 Days of National Mourning Announced for Nasrallah

A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday that his country was facing the threat of danger, after an Israeli airstrike the previous day killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Mikati was speaking at an emergency cabinet meeting that he convened in Beirut upon returning from the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Mikati did not mention Nasrallah in his address, but his office later published a decision to hold three days of national mourning for Nasrallah

A new phase of escalation in the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah began Friday, when Israel targeted Nasrallah in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in one of the largest blasts to hit the Lebanese capital in years.



Netanyahu: Nasrallah's Death Will Change Balance of Power in Region

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
TT

Netanyahu: Nasrallah's Death Will Change Balance of Power in Region

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was a historical turning point that could change the balance of power in the Middle East though he warned of “challenging days” ahead.

"Nasrallah was not a terrorist, he was the terrorist," Netanyahu said in a statement, in his first public remarks since Nasrallah's killing in airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday.

Netanyahu said the killings of top Hezbollah commanders was not enough and he decided Nasrallah also needed to be killed.

He blamed Nasrallah for being “the architect” of a plan to “annihilate” Israel.

"Nasrallah's killing was a necessary step toward achieving the goals we have set, returning residents of the north safely to their homes and changing the balance of power in the region for years to come," Netanyahu said.