French FM to Lebanon’s Leaders: ‘Get Moving’

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. AFP file photo
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. AFP file photo
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French FM to Lebanon’s Leaders: ‘Get Moving’

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. AFP file photo
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. AFP file photo

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday urged Lebanese leaders to push to resolve the country’s political stalemate.

"Political authorities should get moving because the country is in a dramatic situation," he told French public radio.

The government of Saad Hariri resigned in late October under pressure from protests against the political elite that has overseen decades of corruption and bad governance.

Hariri is expected to be named again Lebanon's prime minister.

He wants to lead a cabinet of specialist ministers which he says would be able to tackle the crisis and attract foreign aid, while his opponents want a combination of politicians and experts.

President Michel Aoun's formal consultations with lawmakers to designate the premier, postponed from last week, are scheduled to take place on Monday despite the dispute.

"It should be clear to anyone who might nominate Hariri tomorrow (Monday) that he will only form a government of specialists," a source close to Hariri told Reuters.

Aoun is required to choose the candidate with greatest support among parliament's 128 lawmakers.



Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
TT

Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

An overnight Israeli airstrike on a military site in the area of Kfar Yabous in Syria near the border with Lebanon killed five Syrian army soldiers and injured another, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday, citing an unnamed military official.

Israel's military did not immediately acknowledge the strike. Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria and facilities linked to Iran and the Lebanon’s Hezbollah but rarely acknowledges them.

Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrians have fled across the border from Lebanon into Syria since the beginning of the week amid intense Israeli bombardment that Israel says is targeting Hezbollah fighters and weapons. The strikes have killed an estimated 700 people to date, including at least 150 women and children.