France 24. Israel should “refrain” from sending in forces to take control of a zone in south Lebanon, France’s foreign minister told AFP on Tuesday, warning that such a move would have “major humanitarian consequences”.
“We urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from such ground operations, which would have major humanitarian consequences and would exacerbate the country’s already dire situation,” Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with AFP.
His comments came after Israel earlier said its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.
Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,072 people and displacing more than a million others in more than three weeks of fighting. It has also sent ground troops into the country’s south.
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