France will hold an international ministerial conference over the crisis in Lebanon on Oct. 24 that will focus on the political situation there and humanitarian aid amid an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, the foreign ministry said.
The Presidential Palace, Paris © Mena Today
France will hold an international ministerial conference over the crisis in Lebanon on Oct. 24 that will focus on the political situation there and humanitarian aid amid an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, the foreign ministry said.
"Its objective will be to mobilise the international community to respond to the protection and emergency relief needs of the Lebanese population and to identify ways of supporting Lebanon’s institutions, in particular the Lebanese Armed Forces, which are the guarantors of the country’s internal stability," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Israel has not been invited and it was not clear whether different Lebanese political representatives would be invited.
Paris has historical ties with Lebanon and has been working with the United States in trying to secure a ceasefire in the Middle Eastern country. Those talks stalled at the end of September when Israel heavily bombed Beirut's southern suburbs, killing longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
It has since launched a ground offensive displacing thousands of people.
French President Emmanuel Macron is very fond of organizing large international conferences. However, the results are generally mixed or insignificant.
Lebanon's Foreign Minister Joe Raggi delivered a scathing indictment of Hezbollah, accusing the group of once again sacrificing Lebanon's national interests on the altar of Iranian foreign policy.
Israel's military said it struck Iranian commanders in the Lebanese capital early on Sunday, expanding the scope of strikes to the heart of Beirut after days of strikes that have left nearly 400 people dead.
More than 150 Iranian nationals including diplomats and their families left Lebanon on Saturday, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters, after the Israeli military threatened Iran's representatives in Lebanon and conducted strikes near the embassy.
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