French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday condemned Israeli strikes in Lebanon, adding he "expressed France's full solidarity" after talks with Lebanese leaders.
"I have just spoken with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam," Macron wrote on X. "I expressed France's full solidarity in the face of the indiscriminate strikes carried out by Israel in Lebanon today, which resulted in a very high number of civilian casualties. We condemn these strikes in the strongest possible terms.
"They pose a direct threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire that has just been reached. Lebanon must be fully covered by it."
Earlier Wednesday, Israel carried out its largest wave of airstrikes yet against Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists after announcing it would keep fighting the group in Lebanon, despite a two-week ceasefire with Tehran that took effect hours earlier.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated between the U.S. and Iran, said the ceasefire would also cover Lebanon. Iran has maintained that it does as well, the Times of Israel reported.
President Donald Trump weighed in Wednesday, telling a PBS reporter in a phone interview that Lebanon was not included in the Iran ceasefire deal.
When asked why not, Trump responded: "Because of Hezbollah. They were not included in the deal. That'll get taken care of, too. It's all right."
Asked if he was OK with Israel's strikes against Hezbollah, Trump said: "It's part of the deal — everyone knows that. That's a separate skirmish."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Trump's statements in Wednesday's briefing.
"Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire. That has been relayed to all parties involved in the ceasefire," Leavitt said in remarks that aired live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform.
The Israeli military said its strikes targeted Beirut, the eastern Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon. It issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes for Lebanese civilians in Beirut's southern suburbs and areas of southern Lebanon, according to The Times of Israel.
"I reiterated the need to preserve Lebanon's territorial integrity and France's determination to support the efforts of the Lebanese authorities to uphold the country's sovereignty and implement the Hezbollah disarmament plan," Macron said.
As part of a 2024 ceasefire agreement with Israel, the Lebanese government committed to disarm Hezbollah.
But Hezbollah has refused to give up its weapons and said it will "fight to the end" if forced. It views disarmament as serving Israel and the U.S., not Lebanon.
Hezbollah has intensified its attacks on Israel from Lebanon since the joint U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran began Feb. 28.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has said Israel's strikes against Hezbollah would continue, according to The Times of Israel.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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