Emmanuel Macron said he asked Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from launching a ground offensive in Lebanon during a phone call between the two leaders.
Macron said he also held talks with Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam, urging Lebanese authorities to press Hezbollah to halt its attacks on Israel and return to a ceasefire agreement. He reiterated France’s support for the Lebanese Armed Forces to strengthen state authority and address security threats.
Macron also expressed solidarity with the Lebanese population and said France would assist displaced communities, with more than 83,000 people reportedly forced from their homes following renewed hostilities.
The call marked Macron’s first conversation with Netanyahu since tensions between the two leaders rose after France’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state last year. Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings to villages in southern Lebanon as airstrikes intensified and Hezbollah claimed further attacks.
In a separate televised address, Macron criticised recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran as being outside international law, while also saying Tehran bore primary responsibility for the escalation. He announced that France would reinforce air-defence capabilities in allied countries, including Cyprus, and deploy the aircraft carrier French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Mediterranean.
via Reuters
