French foreign minister again urges Israel not to invade Lebanon
BEIRUT (Reuters) - French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot again urged Israel on Monday not to undertake any ground invasion of Lebanon, adding France will step up its support for the Lebanese army.
"I (...) urge Israel to refrain from any ground incursion and to cease fire. I call on Hezbollah to do the same and to refrain from any action likely to lead to regional destabilisation," Barrot told reporters while visiting Lebanon.
Israel has hit Lebanon with a two-week wave of attacks, eliminating Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and several commanders but also killing around 1,000 Lebanese and forcing 1 million to flee their homes. Hezbollah has pledged to confront any Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon.
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Maya Gebeily; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)