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France Calls for Immediate End to Israeli Airstrikes on Lebanon, UK Calls for Ceasefire

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) speaks with caretaker Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2024. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) speaks with caretaker Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2024. (AFP)
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France Calls for Immediate End to Israeli Airstrikes on Lebanon, UK Calls for Ceasefire

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) speaks with caretaker Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2024. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) speaks with caretaker Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2024. (AFP)

France called on Saturday for an immediate end to Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, also saying that it was opposed to any Israeli ground operation in Lebanon.

In a statement following a call with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also called on Hezbollah and Iran to refrain from any action that could destabilize the region further.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he had also spoken with Mikati on Saturday, following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut which killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

"We agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed. A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people," Lammy said.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Mikati Egypt rejects any violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, a presidency statement said on Saturday.

In a phone call, Sisi also said that Egypt fully supports Lebanon "in these delicate times".

The statement made no mention of Israel's killing of Nasrallah.

Egypt will send medical and humanitarian aid to Lebanon, added the statement.

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Arab World

France’s Macron to Meet with Lebanon’s PM in Paris on Tuesday

16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is pictured during a meeting at the Prime Minister's office. (dpa)
16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is pictured during a meeting at the Prime Minister's office. (dpa)
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France’s Macron to Meet with Lebanon’s PM in Paris on Tuesday

16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is pictured during a meeting at the Prime Minister's office. (dpa)
16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is pictured during a meeting at the Prime Minister's office. (dpa)

French President Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, his office announced, amidst a fragile 10-day truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The visit highlights Macron's commitment to seeing "full and complete respect for the ceasefire in Lebanon" as well as France's support for Lebanon's "territorial integrity", the president's office said on Sunday.

Israel and Lebanon on Thursday agreed to a 10-day ceasefire to give time to negotiate an end to six weeks of fighting between Israel and the group.

The visit was announced a day after France blamed Hezbollah for an ambush on UN peacekeepers which left one French soldier dead and three others wounded.

Macron is to urge Lebanese authorities to "shed full light on the incident" and "identify and prosecute those responsible without delay," his office added.

An initial assessment by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) found the attack was carried out by Hezbollah, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"UNIFIL soldiers, who are carrying out their missions in difficult conditions and supporting the delivery of humanitarian aid to southern Lebanon, must under no circumstances be targeted," the Elysee said.

Hezbollah -- which strongly opposes to the planned Lebanon-Israel talks -- denied involvement in the attack that killed the French peacekeeper.

The fighting in Lebanon has seen UNIFIL positions repeatedly targeted by Israeli and Hezbollah forces.

Arab World

Israel Says to Use ‘Full Force’ in Lebanon Despite Truce if Soldiers Face Threat

Smoke rises over the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil near the border as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, on April 17, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises over the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil near the border as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, on April 17, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Says to Use ‘Full Force’ in Lebanon Despite Truce if Soldiers Face Threat

Smoke rises over the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil near the border as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, on April 17, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises over the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil near the border as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, on April 17, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that the military had been instructed to use "full force" in Lebanon -- even during the ongoing ceasefire -- should Israeli troops face any threat.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the Israeli army to act with full force, both on the ground and from the air, including during the ceasefire, in order to protect our soldiers in Lebanon from any threat," Katz said at a function in the occupied West Bank.

He said that the military had also been ordered to demolish any structure or roads that were "booby-trapped" and threatened soldiers.

The aim is "to remove the houses in the villages near the border that served in every respect as Hezbollah terror outposts and threatened Israeli communities," Katz added.

An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon on Friday -- the day a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect -- when he entered a booby-trapped building, the military reported.

Katz has repeatedly said Israel would demolish houses along the border as part of efforts to establish a security zone in southern Lebanon.

On Saturday, Israeli forces carried out demolitions in the town of Bint Jbeil, the scene of intense fighting with Hezbollah prior to the recently agreed ceasefire.

"The overarching goal of the campaign in Lebanon is the disarmament of Hezbollah and the removal of threat to northern communities, through a combination of military and diplomatic measures," Katz said.

"If the Lebanese government continues to fail to uphold its obligations -- the army will do so through continued military action."

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war in early March when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in support of Iran.

Israel responded with massive strikes across Lebanon and an invasion of southern Lebanon.

Arab World

Moroccans Protest Israel Death Penalty Law at Pro-Palestinian Rally

Moroccan protesters wave flags during a rally in support of the Palestinian people and against Israel's approval of a death penalty bill, in Rabat on April 19, 2026. (AFP)
Moroccan protesters wave flags during a rally in support of the Palestinian people and against Israel's approval of a death penalty bill, in Rabat on April 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Moroccans Protest Israel Death Penalty Law at Pro-Palestinian Rally

Moroccan protesters wave flags during a rally in support of the Palestinian people and against Israel's approval of a death penalty bill, in Rabat on April 19, 2026. (AFP)
Moroccan protesters wave flags during a rally in support of the Palestinian people and against Israel's approval of a death penalty bill, in Rabat on April 19, 2026. (AFP)

Thousands of Moroccans gathered in Rabat on Sunday to voice their support for the Palestinian cause and protest a new Israeli law that would allow the execution of Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.

The crowd of around 5,000 people marched down the capital's Mohammed V Avenue in the center of town, with many carrying Palestinian and Moroccan flags, AFP journalists reported.

The protest was called by the National Action Group for Palestine, which brings together figures from the Justice and Development party and left-wing activists.

Marchers chanted "no to the death penalty" and "no to occupation and Zionism", as well as slogans criticizing Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza.

"We're sending our support to Palestinian prisoners who are threatened by this new law on the death penalty," said Aziz El Hannaoui, a member of the organizing coalition.

The Israeli law makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out deadly attacks deemed "acts of terrorism" by an Israeli military court.

It also allows the death penalty to be applied in murder cases tried in Israeli criminal courts if the perpetrator intended to "put an end to the existence of the State of Israel".

Critics have said that by effectively creating a separate legal track for Palestinians, the law appears to conflict with Israel's Basic Laws, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination.

After its passage, the law was condemned by the Palestinian Authority, activists and several foreign governments, and immediately drew a court challenge.

While the death penalty exists for a small number of crimes in Israel, it has become a de facto abolitionist country -- the Nazi Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann was the last person to be executed in 1962.