Conference on Lebanon: Macron calls for stopping the war “as soon as possible”

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Thursday for a ceasefire “as soon as possible” in Lebanon and to help the Lebanese “regain control of their destiny” at an international conference in support of the country in Paris.

“The war must end as soon as possible. There must be a ceasefire in Lebanon,” he insisted as he opened the conference, with a view to “demonstrating that the worst is not yet written and allowing the Lebanese to regain control of their destiny.”

The international community must “stand together and support efforts to end the ongoing aggression and implement an immediate ceasefire,” added Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

The aim of the conference is to mobilize the international community and raise some 500 million euros to help people displaced by the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

France will itself release 100 million euros and “contribute to equipping the Lebanese army” with a view to its redeployment in the south of the country once a ceasefire is achieved, Emmanuel Macron announced.

“We demand that Hezbollah (a pro-Iranian Lebanese Shiite movement) cease its provocations (…) and indiscriminate strikes” against Israel, the French president asserted.

“Israel knows from experience that its military successes are not necessarily a victory in Lebanon,” he also pointed out, referring to the elimination of Hezbollah's leadership in massive air strikes and the Israeli army's ground operation. “We talk a lot about a war of civilizations (..) I am not sure that we defend a civilization by sowing barbarism ourselves,” he said again.

For its part, Berlin announced that it was releasing 96 million euros for Lebanon.

– Blinken absent –

In a speech delivered via videoconference, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on “Lebanese leaders to take resolute measures to ensure the proper functioning of state institutions in order to address the country's urgent political and security challenges.”

“I encourage partners to strengthen their support for these state institutions, including the Lebanese Armed Forces, which are a vital component in building a secure and peaceful future,” he said, adding his voice to calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon.

At the same time, Hezbollah claimed to have launched a “salvo of rockets” on two cities in northern Israel. The Lebanese national news agency Ani reported an Israeli drone strike on a car east of Beirut.

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The conference brought together more than 70 participants, including the heads of German diplomacy Annalena Baerbock, Canadian Mélanie Joly or the Saudi Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji and for the European Union Josep Borrell, as well as some fifteen international organizations. © POOL – Alain JOCARD

The conference brought together more than 70 participants, including the heads of German diplomacy Annalena Baerbock, Canadian Mélanie Joly or the Saudi Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji and for the European Union Josep Borrell, as well as some fifteen international organizations.

Paralyzed for nearly two years by a political crisis that has plunged it into economic chaos, Lebanon is now the scene of a war between the Lebanese Islamist movement supported by Iran, and Israel.

The clashes, which are taking place particularly in the south of the country on the border with Israel, have forced more than 800,000 people to move, according to the United Nations.

France, like many Western countries, believes that a diplomatic solution is “the only viable solution for Lebanon and Israel”, where 60,000 people have also had to leave their homes.

But in the absence of the main protagonists — Israel and Iran have not been invited and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will not travel — diplomatic progress in Paris is likely to be limited.

– The army, a key player –

“Anything that does not lead to an immediate end to the destruction and killings would make this summit a failure”, said the director of the NGO Oxfam in Lebanon, Bachir Ayoub, on Wednesday.

Support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is one of the key elements as the Lebanese Prime Minister seeks to deploy the Lebanese Armed Forces more widely south of the Litani River, the area targeted by Israeli strikes to dislodge Hezbollah militias.

Emmanuel Macron at the international conference on Lebanon, in Paris, October 24, 2024 © POOL – ALAIN JOCARD

Various measures are being considered, such as the provision of equipment, training and, above all, funds to ensure their daily operation and recruit new soldiers.

The challenge is to increase their effectiveness when a ceasefire agreement has been reached to allow the full implementation of resolution 1701.

This resolution, which had ended the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, stipulates that only the Blue Helmets and the Lebanese army should be deployed in southern Lebanon bordering Israel.

At least 1,552 people have been killed in Lebanon in one month, according to an AFP count based on official data.

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