President Emmanuel Macron: For Lebanon, we must act. We must make every possible effort to prevent this country, close to France, from sliding back into the fires of war. The Lebanese have the right to live in peace and security, just like all the peoples of the Middle East.

Out of concern for stopping the war and preventing the worst, and following my talks with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, I held consultations today with the Lebanese authorities at the highest levels, with the aim of putting in place a plan that leads to a halt of the military operations currently being carried out by both Hezbollah and Israel on both sides of the border.

Hezbollah must immediately cease firing toward Israel, just as Israel must refrain from any ground intervention or large-scale military operation on Lebanese territory.

The Lebanese authorities have pledged to me to take control of the sites occupied by Hezbollah and to assume full responsibility for security across all Lebanese territory.

I reaffirm my full support for them in this endeavor. France will work to strengthen its cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces and will supply them with armored transport vehicles, in addition to providing operational and logistical support. Likewise, the French battalion operating within the framework of the United Nations Force in Lebanon continues to carry out its mission in the south of the country.

In the face of the concern arising from the displacement of tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians from the south at present, I have decided to send them immediate humanitarian aid. Several tons of medicines are currently being shipped, along with shelter supplies and relief assistance, as an expression of the friendship that the French people feel for the Lebanese.

And at this moment fraught with serious risks, I call on the Israeli Prime Minister not to expand the scope of the war into Lebanon.

I also call on the Iranian officials not to drag Lebanon further into a war that is not its own. And Hezbollah must lay down its arms, respect the national interest, and prove that it is not a militia subject to external dictates, thereby enabling the Lebanese to come together to safeguard their country.