Lebanese leadership apprises French President Macron of several Israeli cease-fire violations over 2 days

By Wassim Seifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) - Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday apprised French President Emmanuel Macron of several Israeli cease-fire violations over two days, which began on the same day Israel signed the agreement with Lebanon.

The discussions took place during two phone calls Macron made with Berri and Mikati, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), following a French-US mediation that led to the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

After a French-US mediation that resulted in the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that Macron spoke with Berri and Mikati over the phone separately.

The agency reported that Berri briefed Macron on "the general situation and the recent steps taken by Lebanon in the cease-fire process and the Israeli violations."

The Lebanese army announced earlier that Israel violated the cease-fire agreement several times on Thursday and Wednesday.

Berri and Macron also discussed "preparations for the presidential elections in Lebanon," according to the NNA.

Earlier on Thursday, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced that a parliamentary session to elect a president will be held on January 9.

Lebanon's presidential seat has been vacant for over two years amid the country's political deadlock and a year-long Israeli onslaught on Lebanon.

The NNA stated that Macron also spoke by phone with Mikati about "the current situation in Lebanon following the implementation of the cease-fire decision, and the follow-up on the resolutions issued by the Lebanon Support Conference held recently in Paris (on October 24)."

Mikati thanked the French president "for his constant interest in Lebanon and his help in stopping the Israeli aggression and reaching an agreement on this matter," according to the news agency.

The Lebanese prime minister confirmed that "the army has begun carrying out its duties in the south, the Bekaa (east), and the southern suburb (of Beirut), and is preparing to strengthen its presence in the southern sector of the Litani River."

He also renewed the call for "pressure on Israel to stop its violations of the cease-fire, which today caused injuries and significant material damage."

More than 3,960 people have been killed and more than 16,500 were injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon and over 1 million displaced since October last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul