PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron condemned deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon in separate phone calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Wednesday, expressing Paris’ full solidarity in their aftermath. “I expressed France’s full solidarity in the face of the indiscriminate strikes carried out by Israel in Lebanon today, which resulted in a very high number of civilian casualties,” Macron said on US social media company X. “We condemn these strikes in the strongest possible terms,” Macron said. At least 254 people were killed and 1,165 others injured in Israeli attacks across Lebanon including Beirut since Wednesday, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that ending Israeli attacks on Lebanon was one of the conditions set by Tehran for the ceasefire agreement reached with the United States. According to Iranian media, Pezeshkian made the remarks in a phone call with the French president. He said halting Israeli strikes on Lebanon was among the 10 conditions attached to the agreement with Washington. Pezeshkian also stressed that France has an important role as one of the guarantors of the previous ceasefire in Lebanon. The Iranian president said Tehran had acted responsibly by accepting the ceasefire proposal and had shown its willingness to achieve peace and stability in the region. In Athens, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed strong concern over “counterproductive” Israeli attacks on Lebanon. In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Mitsotakis said: “It’s very clear to me that the Israeli offensive (on Lebanon) right now is completely counterproductive.” “The only thing that Israel is achieving is giving Hezbollah, which has already been significantly weakened, a new lease of life,” he added. Warning that Israeli attacks can lead to a humanitarian crisis, Mitsotakis remarked: “We have a strategic partnership with Israel, but friends need to speak truth to friends.” Israeli attacks continued in the Lebanese capital early Thursday, with a massive explosion heard after an Israeli airstrike targeted a southern suburb of Beirut. Lebanon’s state news agency said the strike hit a residential building in the Shiyyah area in the southern suburb of Dahyeh. Late Wednesday, Israeli warplanes struck the Lailaki-Kafaat area in southern Beirut, with the blast heard across the capital. The Israeli army said it struck more than 100 sites “within 10 minutes” across Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon, describing it as the largest coordinated wave of attacks since the start of the current offensive. The French president stressed that the strikes pose a “direct threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire that has just been reached.” “Lebanon must be fully covered by it,” he added. He also reiterated France’s determination to support Lebanese authorities in upholding national sovereignty and advancing the implementation of a plan to disarm Hezbollah. — Agencies
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