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Negotiations remain the only way to restore security and stability in the region, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Tuesday, as Israel reiterated plans to establish a buffer zone up to the Litani River in southern Lebanon and to demolish all houses in villages near the border.
Mr Aoun was speaking alongside the French Minister Delegate for the Armed Forces, Alice Rufo, who visited Beirut in support of Lebanese sovereignty and in solidarity with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) after three peacekeepers were killed since Sunday. Ms Rufo is also expected to hand over armoured vehicles to the Lebanese army.
“Lebanon welcomes the support provided by French President Emmanuel Macron to help it confront the continuing Israeli escalation against Lebanese territory, to reach a ceasefire, and to begin negotiations in line with the negotiation initiative we announced a few days ago,” Mr Aoun said.
Lebanese officials have harried to avert further escalation as Israel intensified its air and ground campaign since the war resumed on March 2, after Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed Shiite armed group, entered the conflict against Israel and the US in support of Tehran.
Lebanon and its army are not part of the conflict, and Hezbollah’s move has been widely criticised by the Lebanese government, which has since moved to ban the group’s military wing.
France, the former colonial power in Lebanon, retains an important mediation role in the country, and has offered to broker talks with Israel.
Lebanon has said it was ready to hold direct talks with Israel, but diplomatic efforts have been met with Israeli silence, Mr Aoun said.
“Israel continues to refuse to respond to Lebanese, Arab and international calls to stop its war on Lebanon,” he said.
'Rafah and Beit Hanoun' models
Meanwhile, Israel has pushed its troops deeper into southern Lebanon to create what it describes as a security zone, effectively preventing hundreds of thousands of residents from returning to the south “until the safety and security of residents in the north [of Israel] is ensured,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
Israel has already stated its intention to take control of Lebanese territory between the border and the Litani river, about 30km to the north.
Mr Katz said “all houses in villages near the border in Lebanon will be demolished, in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun models”, referring to two towns that were almost completely destroyed and depopulated by the Israeli army during the Gaza war.
Israel’s plan has been criticised by rights groups. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it raises a serious risk of the war crime of “wanton destruction” and breaks international law prohibiting the deliberate destruction of civilian property except when required for lawful military purposes.
Israel sees southern Lebanon as a Hezbollah stronghold, but the area has historically been diverse and is home to Christian and Sunni communities as well.
As ground fighting intensifies, the Israeli army said four soldiers were killed “during an exchange of fire with armed men in southern Lebanon, after the unit they belonged to encountered an armed cell”.
Israel’s bombing continued throughout Tuesday in southern Lebanon, in the eastern Bekaa region, and in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Israel said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure, after issuing another forced displacement order for several neighbourhoods.
The Israeli army has already issued forced displacement orders for large parts of Lebanon, forcing more than a million people to leave their homes.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said that 21 people were killed and 70 others injured in Israeli attacks over the past day, bringing the death toll from Israeli attacks since March 2 to 1,268, with 3,750 other people reported wounded.
The figure includes 52 medical staff, 125 children and 88 women.
