Lebanese authorities should take all necessary measures to avert a war with Israel, France’s foreign minister said in Beirut on Monday, following repeated exchanges of fire along the shared frontier.
Tit-for-tat fire in recent days between Hezbollah and its allied Palestinian factions on the one side and Israel on the other have killed at least 11 people in southern Lebanon and two in Israel. Israel declared war, vowing to destroy Hamas, which along with Hezbollah is backed by Iran. A bombing campaign against targets in Gaza has killed more than 2,700 people and stoked fury across the Arab world.
Earlier on Monday, she met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati who said: “We are working for peace, but the decision to go to war is in Israel’s hands.”