- ARAB NEWS
- 30 Apr 2025
Since 1975
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army on Sunday warned the Lebanese against actions that would disturb public order in the country after Israel’s killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
The army statement called on citizens “to preserve national unity and not to be drawn into actions that may affect civil peace at this dangerous and delicate stage,” following the massive Friday strike that killed Nasrallah and as Israeli attacks continue.
Israel “is working to implement its destructive plans and sow division among Lebanese,” the statement added.
The army appeal came as dozens were killed and wounded on Sunday in Israeli air raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa.
According to preliminary statistics from the Ministry of Health issued on Sunday evening, 21 civilians were killed and 47 were wounded in 40 Israeli raids on Baalbek-Hermel.
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi, in his first comment on the assassination of Nasrallah, said that “the Lebanese paid a heavy price for their departure from the national charter, and Lebanon will not be able to carry out its mission except with positive neutrality.”
Al-Rahi reminded “the international community of the necessity of working to stop the cycle of war, killing and destruction.”
He said: “We all are losers in the war, so it is necessary to adopt negotiations. We hope that by electing a president for Lebanon, he will stop the fire and engage in peace negotiations.”
Amid the Israeli bombardment, the Lebanese ministerial emergency committee continued its discussions on how to manage the vast number of displaced people from the southern suburbs of Beirut, the south, and Bekaa, who had been made homeless.
Some of the displaced are still sleeping in the streets of Beirut, on its seafront, and in front of mosques, while others cannot afford to buy milk for their children or clothes to keep them warm.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said after Sunday’s meeting that the number of displaced people might reach 1 million and that “this current displacement is the largest in Lebanon’s history.”
Mikati said the state’s contributions are “within its capabilities, and we will ask donor countries to help us in these difficult circumstances.”
Regarding political solutions, Mikati stressed that “we have no choice but diplomacy. We demand a ceasefire on all fronts.”
According to official statistics, those who have died since Oct. 8, 2023 amount to 1,640, while the wounded amount to 8,408. The number of missing persons is unknown.
Israeli forces have not given Hezbollah a chance to catch its breath after the assassination of Nasrallah.
Warplanes launched 216 raids within the last 24 hours, including a violent raid on a building between Shiyah and Ghobeiry in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
