French FM to visit Lebanon on Thursday in show of 'support and solidarity with the Lebanese people'

France’s foreign minister will visit Lebanon on Thursday, the ministry tellls AFP, after the EU called on Israel to stop its military strikes on the country.

The visit by Jean-Noel Barrot “underlines France’s support and solidarity with the Lebanese people, dragged into a war they didn’t choose,” the foreign ministry says.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah terrorists launched rockets at Israel after the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel retaliated with strikes that have killed at least 968 people and displaced over a million, according to local authorities, whose figures don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.