The Foreign Minister intends to “discuss with the local authorities and provide French support, especially humanitarian support,” according to a statement by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry indicated that he will leave France “within an hour and arrive this evening.”
On Saturday, France called for “an immediate cessation of Israeli strikes in Lebanon,” noting that it “opposes any ground operation.”
The French Foreign Ministry said that this message was conveyed by Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who spoke with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
In a statement, the ministry called on “other actors, especially Hezbollah and Iran, to refrain from any action that might lead to further destabilization and ignite the region.”
Paris stressed “the necessity of ensuring the security and protection of civilians, in Lebanon as well as in Israel,” without mentioning Hassan Nasrallah by name.
The statement explained that “the French authorities are in contact with the Lebanese authorities and France’s partners in the region to prevent this ignition,” adding that the ministry’s teams were mobilized “to ensure the safety of the French in the region, as it is our priority.”
On Monday, the Israeli army began a violent bombing campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, a year after a cross-border exchange of bombing forced a large portion of the population of northern Israel and southern Lebanon to flee.
The Lebanese Hezbollah announced on Saturday that its Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, had been killed in a raid on the southern suburb of Beirut. Nasrallah’s killing represents a strong blow to the Iran-backed party.
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