European nations intensified diplomatic pressure on Israel to end the fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah in Lebanon, after nearly 200 people were killed in airstrikes the previous day as part of Operation Eternal Darkness.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “Israel’s action yesterday was particularly damaging. We want to see Lebanon as part of the ceasefire. We want the ceasefire to cover Lebanon as well – otherwise serious harm will be done to regional stability.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot made similar remarks Thursday morning. “Lebanon must be part of the ceasefire agreement,” Barrot said, adding, “Iran must abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and the means to acquire them, renounce the use of its missiles and drones to threaten countries in the region, and stop supporting groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis that are destabilizing the region.”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also reached out to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, expressed his country’s solidarity with Lebanon, and informed him that Rome would summon Israel’s ambassador to discuss the current situation and demand an end to the war. Spain’s foreign minister joined the condemnations as well, accusing Israel of committing “violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon.”
Meanwhile, the Lebanese newspaper Nida al-Watan (a Beirut-based outlet aligned with anti-Hezbollah factions), reported that US officials contacted President Aoun and told him Lebanon would not be part of any ceasefire agreement with Iran – despite statements to the contrary by the Pakistani mediator and the Iranians themselves. According to the report, the American side conveyed that Lebanon’s situation constitutes a separate file from the ongoing negotiations with Iran. The report also said that Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had received word from the Iranians that Lebanon was, in fact, included in the ceasefire. He had not received any different message from Washington, which explained the confusion surrounding the question over the previous 24 hours.
