French foreign minister describes Israeli premier’s threats to Lebanon as 'provocations'

By Nur Asena Erturk

The French foreign minister has described the Israeli premier’s threats to Lebanon as “provocations.”

“If those provocations turn real, this would drag Lebanon, a friendly country to France already so fragile, to chaos,” Jean-Noel Barrot told broadcaster France 2 in an interview on Tuesday.

In a recorded video published earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese people and delivered unprecedented criticism of Hezbollah.

He warned the Lebanese people before their country “falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza.”

This would also cause more security problems for Israel, Barrot said, stressing that the situation in Lebanon was already “catastrophic.”

The minister warned that the region was on the edge of a spillover and said: “This spillover is our concern, it concerns all the French.”

Barrot, in this context, called for using dialogue and diplomacy over force to solve the conflict.

Israel continues its air and ground attacks into Lebanon, while also conducting strikes in Gaza.

Fears are growing that continued escalation could lead to an all-out war in the region.