"The number of internally displaced people in Lebanon has reached almost 1 million people, the largest exodus from places of residence in Lebanon's history," Mikati told a press conference.
The Lebanese government will ask donor countries to help Beirut under these circumstances and will cooperate with prominent donors to avoid the penetration of suspicious assistance, the prime minister said.
Mikati expressed his country's readiness to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 on the cessation of hostilities between Lebanese movement Hezbollah and Israel, provided that the relevant circumstances exist, including a ceasefire on all front lines, including the Gaza Strip.
The country will mobilize all its capacities at the political and diplomatic levels to show that stopping the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon is Beirut’s top priority, Mikati added.
Israel began a massive bombing campaign, codenamed Northern Arrows, in southern and eastern parts of Lebanon on Monday. The Lebanese Health Ministry put the death toll at over 1,500. Hezbollah retaliated by firing dozens of rockets toward northern Israel.
The escalation was preceded by a series of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies that rocked Lebanon from September 17-18, killing about 40 people and injuring nearly 3,500 others.
The situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border worsened after the start of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.