• Lebanese PM says country needs €500m to address humanitarian fallout
• Speaker says Israel will face resistance if troops stay in Lebanon
• Belgian FM terms Tel Aviv’s conduct ‘totally unacceptable’
• Israel says applying diplomatic, military pressure to disarm Hezbollah

PARIS/BEIRUT: French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to help Lebanese authorities prepare for negotiations with Israel, even if Paris was not directly part of discussions.

Speaking at a news conference on Tue­sday alongside Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Macron said it was “secondary” for France to be sitting at the table of negotiations as it was in Lebanon’s interest that everyone helps it in the negotiations.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the country needed 500 million euros to address the humanitarian fallout, as a fragile 10-day ceasefire holds between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

“Lebanon needs 500 million euros to tackle the humanitarian crisis over the next six months,” Salam said during a press conference, after Lebanon raised the toll from six weeks of war to more than 2,450 dead and more than 7,600 wounded in the conflict.

The Lebanese PM and French president discussed how to strengthen the country’s hand in possible direct negotiations with Israel in the United States later this week, as Beirut turns to a trusted European ally.

The US will host ambassador-level talks with Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, although it remains unclear whether the objective is to extend a fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah or pave the way for deeper negotiations.

Israeli troops occupy territory deep in the south, aiming to create a buffer zone to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attack, while the group says it maintains the “right to resist” Israeli occupation.

“France’s role is not to insert itself between the parties in discussions that are, by nature, bilateral and direct,” a French presidency official said.

Speaker vows resistance

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s parliament speaker warned on Tuesday that Israeli forces occupying parts of the country’s south would face resistance if they fail to withdraw, signalling a risk of renewed confrontation ahead of US-mediated talks this week.

Speaker Nabih Berri, Lebanon’s most senior statesman and a Hezbollah ally, told Lebanese newspaper Al Joumhouria that Lebanon could not tolerate losing a metre of land.

If Israel “maintains its occupation, whether of areas, positions, or by drawing yellow lines, it will smell the scent of resistance every day,” said Berri, leader of the Amal Movement.

“If they insist on remaining, they will face resistance, and our history bears witness to that,” Berri said.

‘Totally unacceptable’

On the other hand, ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Israel’s actions in Lebanon are “totally unacceptable”.

“Israel’s conduct is completely unacceptable. Of course, we must firmly condemn Hezbollah’s initial attacks, which, in seeking to show solidarity with Iran, dragged Lebanon into a war it did not want, as well as Israel’s disproportionate and indiscriminate response.” He also said Belgium is calling for at least a partial suspension of the EU’s Association’s Agreement with Israel, adding that Belgium is “aware that a full suspension is probably out of reach given the positions of the various European countries”.

‘Applying pressure to disarm Hezbollah’

At the same time, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that his country’s campaign in Lebanon relied on both military and diplomatic pressure to disarm Iran-allied Hezbollah.

“The overarching goal of the campaign in Lebanon is to disarm Hezbollah and remove the threat to the northern communities (of Israel), through a combination of military and diplomatic measures,” Katz said during a ceremony marking Israel’s national day of remembrance for fallen soldiers.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2026