France to host international conference on Lebanon

By Merve Berker

France will host an international conference on Oct. 24 in Paris to address Lebanon's ongoing political and humanitarian crises, the French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The event, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, will gather Lebanon's partner states, the UN, EU, and multiple other “international, regional and civil society organizations,” the ministry said in a statement.

The conference seeks to "mobilize the international community to respond to the protection and emergency relief needs of the Lebanese population and to identify ways to support Lebanon's institutions, in particular the Lebanese Armed Forces, which are the guarantors of the country's internal stability,” the statement stressed.

The ministry emphasized the urgency of a cease-fire and a diplomatic solution aligned with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, also highlighting the need for the safe return of displaced persons in the face of “a serious and profound political and humanitarian crisis.”

"The election of a president in Lebanon is the first step in restoring political institutions," the statement underlined, reiterating Paris’ commitment to supporting Lebanon's sovereignty and stability.

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing more than 1,250 people, injuring 3,618 others, and displacing more than 1.2 million people.

The aerial campaign was an escalation in yearlong cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 42,000 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

At least 2,119 people have since been killed and 10,019 others injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching on Oct. 1 a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.