Lebanese premier ends New York visit early after major Israeli airstrike on Beirut
Mikati cancels meetings on margins of UN General Assembly to immediately return to Beirut after deadly Israeli strikes that Tel Aviv claimed targeted Hezbollah headquarters
ISTANBUL
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati decided late on Friday to cut short his official visit to New York amid developments following a devastating Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb.
According to a statement by his office, Mikati decided to cancel his meetings on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly session and to immediately return to Beirut.
The statement added that Mikati would hold a Cabinet meeting immediately following his arrival.
Earlier on Friday, Israeli jets conducted several heavy airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburb area, claiming to have attacked the main headquarters of Lebanese group Hezbollah.
According to an Anadolu correspondent in Beirut, Israeli warplanes launched some 10 airstrikes on the southern suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold, with a large smoke plume rising over the area.
Shortly after the strikes, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the attack targeted Hezbollah's main headquarters, which he claimed was built underneath civilian buildings.
Following the airstrike, Israeli media said the army was verifying whether Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was inside the targeted area.
An initial toll by Lebanon's Health Ministry said two people were killed, while 76 others were injured as a result of strikes, though the country's Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said information suggested that there were "a large number of victims."
Hezbollah is yet to comment on the attack.
Israel has pounded Lebanon since Monday morning, killing over 700 people and injuring nearly 2,200 others, according to figures released by the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The ministry also said that the death toll in Lebanon since last October is 1,540, in addition to more than 77,000 displaced from southern and eastern parts of the country.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,500 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.
The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of turning the Gaza conflict into a regional war.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar
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