Lebanon PM slams Israel’s ‘war of extermination’ as death toll from strikes rises to 274
Najib Mikati
Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday (Sep 23) slammed Israel's "destructive plan" of strikes against his country as a "war of extermination". His statement comes as the Israeli military struck over 300 Hezbollah targets in east and south Lebanon.
Israel's ‘war of extermination’
Speaking at a cabinet meeting, the caretaker PM Najib Mikati said, "The continuing Israeli aggression on Lebanon is a war of extermination in every sense of the word and a destructive plan that aims to destroy Lebanese villages and towns."
Mikati also urged "the United Nations and the General Assembly and influential countries… to deter the (Israeli) aggression".
As per a statement released on X, he told his cabinet that Israel is planning to "destroy Lebanese villages and towns".
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The caretaker PM also saidhe would work "to stop the new Israeli war and avoid as much as possible falling into the unknown".
Lebanon health ministry in a statement said, "Israeli enemy strikes on southern towns and villages since this morning."
It said that the strikes have killed "182 people and wounded 727 others", with children, women, and health workers among the casualties.
However, as per an AFP report citing a Lebanon minister, 274 people,including 21 children, have died in the strikes.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon
On Monday, Israel said it hit more than 300 Hezbollah sites in dozens of strikes.
Also read |‘Israel does not seek war, but we have duty, right to defend our people’: President Herzog
The nation has also warned Lebanon citizens to steer clear of Hezbollah sites. In a statement, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told the people to avoid potential targets linked to Hezbollah, and said that the as strikes would "go on for the near future".
He warned that the Israeli military "will engage in (more) extensive and precise strikes against terror targets which have been embedded widely throughout Lebanon", andtold civilians to "immediately move out of harm's way for their own safety".
(With inputs from agencies)
