Hariri at Paris Talks: Dissociation Policy Respects Arab Consensus

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) walks between Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri (L) and UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed (R) as they arrive to attend the Lebanon International Support Group meeting in Paris on Decdember 8, 2017.  PHILIPPE WOJAZER / POOL / AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) walks between Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri (L) and UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed (R) as they arrive to attend the Lebanon International Support Group meeting in Paris on Decdember 8, 2017.  PHILIPPE WOJAZER / POOL / AFP
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Hariri at Paris Talks: Dissociation Policy Respects Arab Consensus

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) walks between Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri (L) and UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed (R) as they arrive to attend the Lebanon International Support Group meeting in Paris on Decdember 8, 2017.  PHILIPPE WOJAZER / POOL / AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) walks between Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri (L) and UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed (R) as they arrive to attend the Lebanon International Support Group meeting in Paris on Decdember 8, 2017.  PHILIPPE WOJAZER / POOL / AFP

Prime Minister Saad Hariri reiterated on Thursday that Lebanon’s dissociation policy, which was reaffirmed by the government earlier his week, will help maintain national unity while respecting Arab consensus.

“My government must now undertake the task of maintaining the best of relations with Arab countries and with the international community in line with UN Security Council resolutions, including 1701, which has helped ensure the stability and security of our southern border for 11 years,” Hariri said in his speech at the meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon (ISGL) held in Paris.

The Lebanese government must also meet the basic needs of citizens, while addressing the challenges of the Syrian refugees, he told the conferees at Quai d'Orsay, home to France's foreign ministry.

“The disassociation policy reiterated by my government and adopted by all its political components will enable us to maintain our national unity while respecting Arab consensus,” stressed Hariri.

“But the stability of Lebanon hinges on its ability to cope with the economic and social challenges, stemming essentially from the Syrian refugee crisis,” he said.

Also Thursday, Hariri met at the headquarters of the French foreign ministry, with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in the presence of Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Jebran Bassil and his adviser Nader Hariri, the premier’s press office said.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the ISGL, the statement said.

Discussions tackled the situation in Lebanon and the region and bilateral relations, it added.

Representatives of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council, including Tillerson, attended the ISGL meeting chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Hariri said following the meeting that the contact group insisted on the "absolute need" to stick to the disassociation policy.

He also warned that any breach of the agreement to distance the country from the region's crises will drag Lebanon back into the "danger zone."

After consultations with the various political groups in Lebanon, Hariri announced Tuesday he was withdrawing his resignation that he had announced on November 4.

The Lebanese cabinet issued a joint statement to reaffirm its commitment to staying out of regional conflicts.



Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said.

The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall "dozens of meters from the target".

"The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians," it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.

The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.

Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.

Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.

Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said.

The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.

Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands - releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.