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.



Israeli Airstrikes Kill 11 Palestinians in Gaza

A Palestinian child plays near an unexploded Israeli missile among the rubble of a destroyed building at Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 September 2024. (EPA)
A Palestinian child plays near an unexploded Israeli missile among the rubble of a destroyed building at Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 September 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Airstrikes Kill 11 Palestinians in Gaza

A Palestinian child plays near an unexploded Israeli missile among the rubble of a destroyed building at Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 September 2024. (EPA)
A Palestinian child plays near an unexploded Israeli missile among the rubble of a destroyed building at Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 28 September 2024. (EPA)

Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 11 Palestinians, health officials in the enclave said on Sunday, as Israeli planes bombarded several northern, central and southern areas.

A school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip was among buildings hit, killing four people and wounded several others, Gaza medics said.

The Israeli military said it struck Hamas fighters operating from a command center embedded in a compound that had previously served as Um Al-Fahm School. It accused Hamas of exploiting civilian facilities and its population for military purposes, which Hamas denies.

In another strike, three people were killed in a house in Gaza City, medics said. Four others were killed in three separate airstrikes in Nuseirat and Khan Younis in central and southern parts of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces pursued their operations in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, and in Gaza City's suburb of Zeitoun, where forces blew up several houses, according to residents and Hamas media.

On Sunday the Israeli military said forces continue the fight in a "multi-front war" and are operating in Gaza to bring Israeli and foreign hostages home and to "dismantle" Hamas.

It said troops discovered and dismantled an underground tunnel route that is approximately 1km long near residential buildings and civilian spaces in central Gaza, adding that they found several rooms and equipment used by Hamas for prolonged periods.

Fighting and Israeli military activities in Gaza have declined in the past week as Israel escalated its military offensive against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Friday. The group announced Nasrallah's death on Saturday.

Most of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have been displaced by the war, in which 41,500 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel and Hamas have been fighting since gunmen from the Palestinian group stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing about 250 hostages, going by Israeli tallies.