The French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to “stop the escalation in Lebanon”, speaking before the United Nations Council.
“There cannot and must not be a war in Lebanon,” he declared at the UN podium. “The main danger in the Middle East is that of escalation. “For too long, Hezbollah has taken the ‘responsibility’ for dragging the Lebanese people into war,” he said.
He continued: “We will act to reach a diplomatic solution to spare civilian lives. There cannot and should not be a war in Lebanon. We call on Israel to cease its attacks on Lebanon and Hezbollah to stop the blows.”
The war in Gaza has ‘gone on for a long time’
He also spoke to Gaza“where the fate of the Palestinian people is present and weighs heavily on all our discussions.” “I would like to set out France’s position: we condemn the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October and here we mourn the victims, 48 of whom were French citizens. We once again emphatically call for the release of the hostages,” he said.
“Israel has the legal right to protect its people. However, Israel’s war on Gaza has been going on for too long (…) These deaths are a source of hatred. We need a ceasefire as soon as possible. It is a question of political will,” he also insisted.