عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Macron Calls On Israel to Avoid Escalation, 'Particularly in Lebanon'

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media during the second day of a European Union leaders summit, as EU leaders attempt to agree on Russian oil sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium May 31, 2022. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media during the second day of a European Union leaders summit, as EU leaders attempt to agree on Russian oil sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium May 31, 2022. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Macron Calls On Israel to Avoid Escalation, 'Particularly in Lebanon'

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media during the second day of a European Union leaders summit, as EU leaders attempt to agree on Russian oil sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium May 31, 2022. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media during the second day of a European Union leaders summit, as EU leaders attempt to agree on Russian oil sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium May 31, 2022. (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to avoid escalation, "particularly in Lebanon", following a strike in Beirut attributed to Israel that killed Hamas's deputy leader, the Elysee Palace said Tuesday.

Macron, who spoke by telephone with Israeli minister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz, said "it was essential to avoid any escalatory attitude, particularly in Lebanon, and that France would continue to pass on these messages to all players directly or indirectly involved in the area", the presidency said.

Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri was killed in a strike attributed to Israel in a suburb of Beirut on Tuesday evening, the Palestinian militant group and Lebanese security officials said, AFP reported.

Israel regularly carries out strikes against the Hamas-allied Hezbollah movement along its shared border with Lebanon, but Aruri's killing was the first time since the start of the war in Gaza that it has targeted the Lebanese capital.

After the strike, Hezbollah vowed Aruri's death would not go "unpunished", calling it "a serious assault on Lebanon... and a dangerous development in the course of the war".

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati also condemned the killing and said it "aims to draw Lebanon" further into the Israel-Hamas war.

In his conversation with Gantz, Macron reiterated his call for a "lasting ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas, the presidency said.

He also expressed again his "deepest concern" at the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza, as well as the humanitarian crisis unfolding inside the Palestinian territory, while at the same time reaffirming "France's commitment to the security of Israel".

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israeli Minister Says Time Running out for Diplomatic Solution with Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israeli artillery shells an area of Al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, 11 September 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Israeli artillery shells an area of Al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, 11 September 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
TT
TT

Israeli Minister Says Time Running out for Diplomatic Solution with Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israeli artillery shells an area of Al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, 11 September 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Israeli artillery shells an area of Al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, 11 September 2024. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday that the window was closing for a diplomatic solution to the standoff with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon.

Gallant's remarks came as the White House Special envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel to discuss the crisis on the northern border where Israeli troops have been exchanging missile fire with Hezbollah forces for months.

"The possibility for an agreed framework in the northern arena is running out," Gallant told Austin in a phone call, according to a statement from his office, Reuters reported.

As long as Hezbollah continued to tie itself to Hamas in Gaza, where Israeli forces have been engaged for almost a year, "the trajectory is clear," he said.

The visit by Hochstein, who is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, comes amid efforts to find a diplomatic path out of the crisis, which has forced tens of thousands on both sides of the border to leave their homes.

On Monday, Israeli media reported that the head of the army's northern command had recommended a rapid border operation to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

While the war in Gaza has been Israel's main focus since the attack by Hamas-led gunmen on Oct. 7 last year, the precarious situation in the north has fuelled fears of a regional conflict that could drag in the United States and Iran.

A missile barrage by Hezbollah the day after Oct. 7 opened the latest phase of conflict and since then there have been daily exchanges of rockets, artillery fire and missiles, with Israeli jets striking deep into Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah has said it does not seek a wider war at present but would fight if Israel launched one.

Israeli officials have said for months that Israel cannot accept the clearance of its northern border areas indefinitely but while troops remain committed to Gaza, there have also been questions about the military's readiness for an invasion of southern Lebanon.

However, some of the hardline members of the Israeli government have been pressing for action and on Monday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a longtime foe of Gallant, called for him to be sacked.

"We need a decision in the north and Gallant is not the right person to lead it," he said in a statement on the social media platform X.

Hundreds of Hezbollah fighters and dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed in the exchanges of fire, which have left communities on both sides of the border as virtual ghost towns.