Today, Thursday, April 9, 2026, Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam announced a national day of mourning for the lives of the victims and those injured as a result of the Israeli attacks that targeted hundreds of unarmed civilians in various regions of Lebanon.
Salam issued a decision to close all government and municipal departments and institutions, and to fly flags at half-mast on their buildings, in addition to changing the regular programs on radio and television channels in line with this painful national disaster.
The Prime Minister offered his deepest condolences to the Lebanese people in general and to the families of the martyrs in particular, expressing his wishes for a speedy recovery for the wounded, and stressing the continuation of his contacts with sisterly Arab countries and international officials in order to mobilize political and diplomatic support to stop the ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
The declaration of mourning comes after a bloody day in Lebanon, as Israel carried out, since the morning hours, a series of intense and simultaneous air strikes targeting Beirut, the southern suburbs, and areas in Mount Lebanon, the Bekaa, and the south, resulting in a large number of victims and wounded, as well as massive destruction of residential buildings and infrastructure.
This escalation was accompanied by heavy flights of military and reconnaissance aircraft in the skies of most Lebanese regions, amid a state of panic among the population and an exodus from some of the targeted areas, while the security services, ambulance crews and civil defense mobilized to deal with the effects of the attacks, which were described as “the most violent since the beginning of the current escalation.”
