Mick Hartley

Oh dear. The "deadly Israeli bombardment" on Lebanon continues to make the headlines. BBC live reporting, meanwhile:

Lebanon's Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, says he is heading to New York later "in light of current developments" to make further contacts.

The UN General Assembly is currently meeting in New York and Mikati had been due to attend the meeting.

But on Saturday he cancelled the trip because of intensifying strikes in his country, including strikes hitting the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday as Israel said it targeted and killed a senior Hezbollah commander.

Mikati's New York trip means he is also cancelling the government cabinet meeting scheduled for today, a statement adds.

Has there ever been a war with a more obvious solution? Can Mikati grasp it? His country has been co-opted  – taken over – by an Iranian proxy that has been waging war on Israel for years and, since the Hamas pogrom of October 7th last year, has been firing rockets indiscriminately into northern Israel. Just get rid of Hezbollah – that's all. That's how straightforward it is. Israel doesn't want to take over any part of Lebanon: it just wants the bombing inside Israel to stop. Simple.

Will the UN be able to offer any moral clarity to the situation? Will it tell Mikati that all he has to do is get rid of Hezbollah, the cuckoo in the nest, and all his Israel problems will be resolved?

Um….I'm guessing perhaps not.