European ministers call for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon | Lebanon

European foreign ministers have stepped up calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, amid concerns that Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, risks causing serious harm to Lebanon and the region are destabilized.

As Israeli defense officials continued to raise the prospect of a cross-border operation in southern Lebanon, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain expressed alarm at the latest escalation on the Israeli side.

Israel must “immediately stop its attacks in Lebanon,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, adding that his country was opposed to any form of ground operation by the Israelis.

David Lammy, the British Foreign Secretary, said on X that he had spoken to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. “We agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to end the bloodshed. A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people,” Lammy wrote.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told broadcaster ARD that Nasrallah’s killing “threatens destabilization for the whole of Lebanon,” which is “in no way in Israel’s security interests.”

US President Joe Biden has described Nasrallah’s death as a “measure of justice”, although he also told reporters on Saturday: “It is time for a ceasefire.”

Since Nasrallah’s death, Hezbollah has said it will continue the fight against Israel and has continued to fire rockets into the country, including a salvo on Sunday morning.

More than 700 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel stepped up its bombing of Hezbollah strongholds last Monday, according to Health Ministry figures.

In Beirut, displaced families spent the night on the benches at Zaitunay Bay, a string of restaurants and cafes on Beirut’s waterfront, where private security usually chases away any people loitering.

Filippo Grandi, the UN refugee chief, said that “more than 200,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon” and more than 50,000 people have fled to neighboring Syria.

Nasrallah was killed on Friday in a massive Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs. It was a major blow to the group and to Iran, removing an influential ally who helped build Hezbollah into the hub of Tehran’s network of allied groups in the Arab world.

Israel announced his killing on Saturday and Hezbollah later confirmed his death.

Growing international concern over the potential impact of Nasrallah’s killing came as Israel continued to launch dozens of attacks against Hezbollah. An airstrike in northern Lebanon on Sunday morning reportedly killed 11 people.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the army had approved a possible ground operation. It quoted army officials as saying that they had gained substantial experience in Gaza and that Israeli intelligence on Lebanon was far superior to what they had done on Hamas in Gaza.

Reports in the Israeli media suggested that within weeks the Israeli army leadership continued to push for a limited ground offensive, seeing a last chance.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Nasrallah’s assassination was a necessary step toward “changing the balance of power in the region for years to come.”

“Nasrallah was not a terrorist, he was the terrorist,” Netanyahu said in a statement, warning of challenging days ahead.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “His elimination makes the world a safer place.”

Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border attacks on Israeli forces a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas carried out its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, sparking the war in Gaza.

The Israeli army said on Sunday that it had killed Nabil Kaouk, another top Hezbollah leader, on Saturday. Kaouk was one of the few remaining senior members of the organization, and reportedly one of those considered to succeed Nasrallah as leader.

Analysts suggest that Hashim Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, is the favored choice to succeed Nasrallah. Naeem Qassem, the organization’s deputy secretary general, is also reportedly in the running.

Hezbollah’s leadership has been decimated by a brutal Israeli assassination campaign.