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French Foreign Minister Urges Israel Not to Invade Lebanon

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) meets with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2024. (EPA)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) meets with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2024. (EPA)
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French Foreign Minister Urges Israel Not to Invade Lebanon

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) meets with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2024. (EPA)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) meets with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (L) at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2024. (EPA)

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has urged Israel to refrain from launching a ground offensive in Lebanon and to reach a cease-fire with the Lebanese group Hezbollah after nearly two weeks of escalating tit-for-tat strikes across Israel's northern border.

“There is still hope, but there is little time left,” Barrot said during a news conference in Beirut Monday, just hours after an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in the heart of the Lebanese capital. “I therefore urge Israel to refrain from any ground incursion and to cease fire.”

He also urged Hezbollah to stop firing on Israel, saying it “bears heavy responsibility in the current situation, given its choice to enter the conflict” after ally Hamas’ Oct. 7 deadly incursion into southern Israel.

Barrot was in Lebanon to delivery medical aid and hospital equipment. He met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

He expressed solidarity with the Lebanese people, saying they are “caught in a war (they) did not choose,” and said France will provide flights for any French nationals who want to leave Lebanon.

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Lebanese President Says ‘Forbidden’ to Return to War Rhetoric

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanese President Says ‘Forbidden’ to Return to War Rhetoric

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday it was “forbidden to return to war rhetoric,” while reiterating that the decision to limit the possession of arms to the state “has been taken.”

The issue is being addressed calmly and responsibly in order to protect civil peace, he stressed while meeting a delegation from the French Senate at the Baabda Palace.

Aoun added that the Lebanese army was carrying out its duties in full south of the Litani River in line with the ceasefire agreement reached in November, according to a presidency statement.

It continues to clear villages and towns of ammunition and armed presence, he went on to say, remarking that the process will take some time because of the large area that will be covered.

The main obstacle preventing the army from reaching the southern border is Israel’s occupation of five hilltops, which Aoun said, have no military significance.

Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the area is complicating matters and preventing stability from being restored to the border, which makes their pullout necessary so that the Lebanese army can continue its deployment and allow the state to impose its authority across the country, the president urged.

He told the French delegation that the army is deployed along the northern and eastern borders and is carrying out its duties there, especially combating terrorism, human-trafficking and drug smuggling.

Aoun stressed that he is in contact with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to coordinate over border issues to prevent any unrest.

Joint committees have been formed after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit to Damascus in order to address pending issues, especially the demarcation of the land and maritime borders and Syrian refugees still in Lebanon, Aoun said.

Now that war in Syria is over, the refugees who are still in Lebanon are staying for economic reasons, he explained, saying that Beirut has called on the international community to provide them with assistance to allow them to go back to their country.

The assistance should not be paid in Lebanon, which will only encourage the refugees to stay, he noted.