France opposes Israel's invasion of Lebanon

Ambassador to the UN urges warring parties to immediately consider the 21-day ceasefire proposal put forward by France and the US

Smoke rises following an Israeli military strike on a village in southern Lebanon. EPA / STR

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France on Wednesday condemned the deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon, called for an immediate ceasefire and declared its opposition to Israel's invasion of its neighbour.

The French ambassador to the UN, Nicholas de Riviere, told the Security Council it was “imperative” for Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity to be restored.

“The situation in Lebanon is serious: military operations are intensifying, the Israeli army has carried out land incursions in violation of Lebanese sovereignty, and Hezbollah is pursuing its attacks against Israel,” Mr de Riviere said at an emergency meeting requested by Israel and France.

“France is opposed to any Israeli ground operation in Lebanon and … condemns the Israeli air strikes, which have caused an unacceptable number of civilian casualties, and the attacks by Hezbollah against Israel and its population.”

Last month, Israel shifted its focus from the war in Gaza, which erupted after the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel, to strengthening security along its northern border with Lebanon.

The 15-member UN Security Council convened after Israel launched a ground offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah this week. On Tuesday, Tehran sent a barrage of ballistic missiles into Israel, stoking fears of a broader regional war.

Mr de Riviere urged the warring parties to urgently consider a 21-day ceasefire proposal proposed by the US and France.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, meanwhile, told the Security Council that “raging fires in the Middle East are fast becoming an inferno”.

“We have seen a dramatic escalation – so dramatic that I wonder what remains of the framework this Council established with Resolution 1701,” he said, referring to the measure that ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel but was never fully implemented.

Mr Guterres rejected Israel's request to relocate UN peacekeepers from southern Israel, stating they would remain where the “UN flag continues to fly”.

He also condemned Iran's attack on Israel. Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced he was barring Mr Guterres from entering the country, blaming the UN chief's failure to specifically condemn Iran's missile attack.

Israel’s vow to retaliate has prompted diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions. Iran has warned it would launch a larger attack if Israel follows through on its threat to retaliate.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN, stated that Iran's backing of regional proxies has fuelled the crises in Gaza and Lebanon.

“The IRGC was not protecting Iran from threats posed by another member state,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield said, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Instead, she said, the IRGC acted in solidarity with Hezbollah following the killing of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Of the roughly 200 missiles fired, most were intercepted by Israel’s air defence systems, bolstered by support from the US and other allied forces. Danny Dannon, Israel's envoy to the UN, said Tehran that it faces consequences “far greater than they could ever have imagined”.

Iran said that Tehran's response was necessary to restore balance and deterrence to “Israel's continued aggressive acts over the past two months.”

“Israel must understand that each act of aggression it makes is not unpunished and would be met with consequences,” Iran's UN ambassador Amir Iravani said.

Lebanon's UN ambassador, Hadi Hachem, condemned Israel's actions and said its claims of limited operations are “false”.

“The damage to civilians and infrastructure is immense,” he noted, highlighting the dire situation in southern Lebanon and Beirut where children have been forced to sleep on the streets.