An Israeli military vehicle rides by the ceasefire line between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, December 15, 2024
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Israel agreed on Sunday (December 15, 2024) to double its population in the occupied Golan Heights while saying threats from Syria remained despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago.

“Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it in 1981.

In 2019, then-President Donald Trump declared U.S. support for Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, but the annexation has not been recognised by most countries. Syria demands Israel withdraw but Israel refuses, citing security concerns. Various peace efforts have failed.

“The immediate risks to the country have not disappeared and the latest developments in Syria increase the strength of the threat — despite the moderate image that the rebel leaders claim to present,” Defence Minister Israel Katz told officials examining Israel’s defence budget, according to a statement.

Mr. Netanyahu’s office said the government unanimously approved a more than 40-million-shekel ($11 million) plan to encourage demographic growth in the Golan.

It said Mr. Netanyahu submitted the plan to the government “in light of the war and the new front facing Syria, and out of a desire to double the population of the Golan”.

Some 31,000 Israelis have settled there, said analyst Avraham Levine of the Alma Research and Education Center specialising in Israel’s security challenges on its northern border. Many work in farming, including vineyards, and tourism. The Golan is home to 24,000 Druze, an Arab minority who practice an offshoot of Islam, Levine said. Most identify as Syrian.

Avoiding ‘new confrontations’

Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said on Saturday (December 14, 2024) that Israel was using false pretexts to justify its attacks on Syria, but that he was not interested in engaging in new conflicts as his country focuses on rebuilding.

Mr. Sharaa – better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani – leads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that swept Assad from power last Sunday, ending the family’s five-decade iron-fisted rule.

Since then Israel has moved into a demilitarised zone inside Syria that was created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, including the Syrian side of the strategic Mount Hermon that overlooks Damascus, where its forces took over an abandoned Syrian military post.

Israel, which has said that it does not intend to stay there and calls the incursion into Syrian territory a limited and temporary measure to ensure border security, has also carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria’s strategic weapons stockpiles.

It has said it is destroying strategic weapons and military infrastructure to prevent them from being used by rebel groups that drove Assad from power, some of which grew from movements linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, have condemned what they called Israel’s seizure of a buffer zone in the Golan Heights.

“Syria’s war-weary condition, after years of conflict and war, does not allow for new confrontations. The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability, not being drawn into disputes that could lead to further destruction,” Mr. Sharaa said in an interview published on the website of Syria TV, a channel that sides with the rebels.

He also said diplomatic solutions were the only way to ensure security and stability and that “uncalculated military adventures” were not wanted.

Damascus:

In a seismic moment for the Middle East, Islamist rebels in Syria announced President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster on Sunday after seizing control of Damascus, forcing him to flee and ending his family’s decades of rule after more than 13 years of civil war. The fall of Bashar al-Assad came as a major blow to the influence of Russia and Iran in the heart of the region, key allies who propped up the President during critical periods in the conflict.

The end of the Assad family’s five-decade rule in Syria is set to reshape the power balance in the region, with regional and global forces rising to fill the power vacuum left behind by the dramatic regime change. While the Western and Arab states, along with Israel, would try to curtail Iran’s influence in Syria, it is unlikely for them to support a radical Islamist regime to replace Assad, according to a report by CNN.

For Iran the fall of Syria could shatter its so-called Axis of Resistance, comprising allied states and militia.

What Led To Asaad’s Fall?

Rebels reportedly were encouraged to make an advance for Aleppo last week after Israel debilitated Hezbollah and weakened Iran’s footprint in the region. “Due to the Lebanese war and decrease in Hezbollah forces, (Assad’s) regime has less support,” Hadi al-Bahra, a Syrian opposition leader representing anti-Assad groups told news agency Reuters in an interview. 

He added that Iran-backed militias also have fewer resources, and Russia is providing less air cover to Assad’s forces due to its “Ukraine problem”. 

What’s At Stake?

Iran

For years, Syria was used by Iran to expand its regional influence through proxy groups stationed in the majorly Sunni nation. Tehran, along with its proxy Hezbollah, have helped the Syrian government forces regain lost territory.  The Islamic Republic also sent its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders to advise Assad’s military, which proved instrumental in keeping the President in Power.  

However, since the beginning of the Middle Eastern conflict in October last year after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its attack on Israel, Hezbollah pulled its forces out of Syria to focus on its war with Israel. Iran has been reportedly using supply routes in Syria to transfer weapons to its proxies fighting Israel. The fall of Aleppo and potentially other cities bordering Lebanon could disrupt those routes, placing Iran in a difficult position. Losing Syria would be “a huge blow” for Iran, according to experts. 

“The investment Iranians have made in Syria is very significant, it’s an important land bridge to Lebanon, but also the alliance the Iranians have with the Assad regime has lasted across the Islamic Republic’s history,” Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Washington DC-based Quincy Institute told CNN. 

As per the report, Iran would want to use its proxies in the region as leverage in potential talks with incoming US President Donald Trump’s administration.

“If Iran loses too much of their position in the region, will they be too weak to negotiate? But if they fight back to try and retain as much of that position as possible, do they risk escalating the war to the point where diplomacy may no longer be possible?” Mr Parsi said. 

Lebanon

As per experts, the events in Syria are bound to impact Lebanon, where a truce deal between Tehran’s proxy Hezbollah and Israel is hanging by a thread. Hezbollah was a crucial player in keeping the Asaad regime afloat, but it has been weakened by the war with Israel. 

In case the Syrian insurgents manage to reach the Lebanese border, Hezbollah’s key logistics and supply route from Iran– which passes through Syria and Iraq– could be cut off, confining Tehran’s proxy in Lebanon. 

“One of the causes of what is happening today in Syria is the control of the Syrian-Lebanese borders to prevent the passage of strategic weapons into Lebanon,” Euronews quoted Antoine Habchi, Lebanese MP from the Bekka Valley, as saying. 

“Turkey has tried to make sure that the Lebanese borders are not a route for the transfer of strategic weapons through Syria. Even al-Assad doesn’t control passage through his own territory here, which is controlled by other factions and international forces, and notably Iran,” Mr Habchi added. 

Turkey

Turkey had been seeking to increase its leverage with President Assad to boost its standing in the region and allow it to keep closer control of Kurdish separatists, located along the Turkish-Syria border, to create a buffer zone. Ankara had represented the rebels in negotiations with Russia in the past decade, which eventually led to a ceasefire agreement between the Syrian government and Opposition forces in 2020.

Despite its support for opposition forces, Turkey has not ruled out a rapprochement with Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long opposed Kurdish nationalism. He has time and again said that his ultimate goal is to eliminate the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish far-left militant and political group based in Turkey and Iraq that has fought the Turkish state for more than three decades.

Another goal for Ankara is to reportedly maintain control over oil-rich Syrian sanctuaries in semi-autonomous northern areas of the country. 

Israel

The imbalance in power in Syria has also caught Israel in a difficult position. While President Assad viewed Israel as an enemy, he did not pose a direct threat to Tel Aviv and opted to not respond to the regular Israeli strikes in Syria over the past year. 

However, Asaad’s regime allowed its territory to be used by Iran to supply weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. But the fall of Mr Asaad did not come as a relief to Israel as the group leading the rebellion in Syria is Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) whose leader Abu Muhammad Al Jolani is a former al Qaeda fighter with an Islamist ideology that opposes Israel.

“Israel is in between Iran, its proxies and Syria’s Islamic rebels,” Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official, told CNN. 

“None of the choices are good as far as Israel is concerned but for the time being Iran and its proxies are weakened, which is good,” he said

The newly revived conflict has allowed Tel Aviv to resume strikes on targets in Syrian territory. Suspected Israeli airstrikes hit Mazzeh district of Damascus on Sunday, Reuters reported. 

As per the report, jets believed to be Israeli also bombed the Khalkhala air base in southern Syria which was evacuated by the Syrian army overnight. The regional security sources also told the agency that at least six strikes hit the main air base in the north of the city of Suweida which has a large stockpile of rockets and missiles left by Syrian troops.

The attack appeared aimed at preventing these weapons from falling into the hands of radical groups, one source told Reuters.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres looks on during a joint statement with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, in Sao Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal, on November 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon that took effect earlier on Wednesday (November 27, 2024) was “the first ray of hope” in the regional conflict after months of escalation.

“It is essential that those who signed the ceasefire commitment respect it in full,” he said in a short televised statement during a visit to his native Lisbon, adding that the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon was ready to monitor the ceasefire.

He also reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“I received an auspicious sign yesterday, the first ray of hope for peace amid the darkness of the past months,” he said, referring to the agreement.

“It is a moment of great importance, especially for civilians who were paying an enormous price of this spreading conflict.”

Smoke rises after a recent Israeli airstrike on Southern Lebanon. File
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

The Israeli military said on Monday (November 4, 2024) it had killed a top Hezbollah commander it accused of overseeing rocket and anti-tank missile attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

“Abu Ali Rida, the Hezbollah commander of the Baraachit area in southern Lebanon, was “eliminated” in an air strike,” the military said, without specifying when he was killed.

Rida “was responsible for planning and executing rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on IDF (military) troops and oversaw the terrorist activities of Hezbollah operatives in the area”, the military said in a statement.

Israel has continued to pound Hezbollah targets in Lebanon since the war between the two sides broke out in late September.

In recent weeks, Israel has killed several of the movement’s militant commanders and top leaders, including former chief Hassan Nasrallah.

The war began after nearly a year of cross-border skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, with the Lebanese group firing rockets into northern Israel almost daily in support of its ally in Gaza, Hamas.

Israel is fighting its deadliest war in Gaza against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Lebanon’s eastern city of Baalbek, in the Bekaa Valley, on October 30, 2024
| Photo Credit: AFP

Israeli airstrikes pounded the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek on Wednesday (October 30, 2024), killing at least 19 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry and state-run news agency.

Hours earlier, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for residents in the entire city — including its ancient Roman temple complex inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Israel said it was targeting sites connected to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Some 1.2 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Lebanon, according to government estimates. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said more than 2,800 people have been killed and 12,900 wounded since October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, drawing retaliation. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of October.

The death toll from more than a year of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has passed 43,000, Palestinian officials reported Monday (October 28, 2024), without distinguishing between civilians and combatants. The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

An Israeli attack on Iran damaged facilities at a secretive military base southeast of the Iranian capital that experts in the past have linked to Tehran’s onetime nuclear weapons program and at another base tied to its ballistic missile program, satellite photos analyzed Sunday (October 27, 2024) by The Associated Press show.

Some of the buildings damaged sat in Iran’s Parchin military base, where the International Atomic Energy Agency suspects Iran in the past conducted tests of high explosives that could trigger a nuclear weapon. Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though the IAEA, Western intelligence agencies and others say Tehran had an active weapons program up until 2003.

The other damage could be seen at the nearby Khojir military base, which analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites.

Iran’s military has not acknowledged damage at either Khojir or Parchin from Israel’s attack early Saturday (October 26, 2024), though it has said the assault killed four Iranian soldiers working in the country’s air defence systems. Iran announced Sunday (October 27, 2024) a civilian also had been killed, but provided no details.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. The Israeli military declined to comment.

‘Should not be exaggerated nor downplayed’

However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday (October 27, 2024) told an audience that the Israeli attack “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for an immediate retaliatory strike. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately said Sunday (October 27, 2024) that Israel’s strikes “severely harmed” Iran and that the barrage “achieved all its goals.”

It remains unclear how many sites in total were targeted in the Israeli attack. There have been no images of damage so far released by Iran’s military.

Iranian officials have identified affected areas as being in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces. Burned fields could be seen in satellite images from Planet Labs PBC around Iran’s Tange Bijar natural gas production site in Ilam province on Saturday (October 26, 2024), though it wasn’t immediately clear if it was related to the attack. Ilam province sits on the Iran-Iraq border in western Iran.

The most telling damage could be seen in Planet Labs images of Parchin, some 40 kilometres southeast of downtown Tehran near the Mamalu Dam. There, one structure appeared to be totally destroyed while others looked damaged in the attack.

At Khojir, some 20 kilometres away from downtown Tehran, damage could be seen on at least two structures in satellite images.

Analysts including Decker Eveleth at the Virginia-based think tank CNA, Joe Truzman at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former United Nations weapon inspector David Albright, as well as other open-source experts, first identified the damage to the bases. The locations of the two bases correspond to videos obtained by the AP showing Iranian air defense systems firing in the vicinity early Saturday (October 26, 2024).

At Parchin, Albright’s Institute for Science and International Security identified the destroyed building against a mountainside as “Taleghan 2.” It said an archive of Iranian nuclear data earlier seized by Israel identified the building as housing “a smaller, elongated high explosive chamber and a flash X-ray system to examine small-scale high explosive tests.”

“Such tests may have included high explosives compressing a core of natural uranium, simulating the initiation of a nuclear explosive,” a 2018 report by the institute says.

In a message posted to the social platform X early Sunday (October 27, 2024), the institute added: “It is not certain whether Iran used uranium at ‘Taleghan 2,’ but it is possible it studied the compression of natural uranium hemispheres, which would explain its hasty and secretive renovation efforts following the IAEA’s request to access Parchin in 2011.”

It’s unclear what, if any, equipment would have been inside of the “Taleghan 2″ building early Saturday (October 26, 2024). There were no Israeli strikes on Iran’s oil industry, its nuclear enrichment sites or its nuclear power plant at Bushehr during the assault.

Not impacted, says Iran

Rafael Mariano Grossi, who leads the IAEA, confirmed that on X, saying “Iran’s nuclear facilities have not been impacted.”

“Inspectors are safe and continue their vital work,” he added. “I call for prudence and restraint from actions that could jeopardize the safety & security of nuclear & other radioactive materials.”

Other buildings destroyed at Khojir and Parchin likely included buildings where Iran used industrial mixers to create the solid fuel needed for its extensive ballistic missile arsenal, Mr. Eveleth said.

In a statement issued immediately after the attack Saturday (October 26, 2024), the Israeli military said it targeted “missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.”

Destroying such sites could greatly disrupt Iran’s ability to manufacture new ballistic missiles to replenish its arsenal after the two attacks on Israel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees the country’s ballistic missile program, has been silent since Saturday’s (October 26, 2024) attack.

Iran’s overall ballistic missile arsenal, which includes shorter-range missiles unable to reach Israel, was estimated to be “over 3,000” by Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, in testimony to the U.S. Senate in 2022. In the time since, Iran has fired hundreds of the missiles in a series of attacks.

There have been no videos or photos posted to social media of missile parts or damage in civilian neighbourhoods following the recent attack — suggesting that the Israeli strikes were far more accurate than Iran’s ballistic missile barrages targeting Israel in April and October. Israel relied on aircraft-fired missiles during its attack.

However, one factory appeared to have been hit in Shamsabad Industrial City, just south of Tehran near Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main gateway to the outside world. Online videos of the damaged building corresponded to an address for a firm known as TIECO, which advertises itself as building advanced machinery used in Iran’s oil and gas industry.

Representational image of rockets in the sky after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles towards Israel
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Israel launched airstrikes early Saturday (October 26, 2024) targeting what it described as military targets in Iran in retaliation for a ballistic missile assault on October 1, officials said. There was no immediate information on damage in the Islamic Republic.

Israel’s military described the attack as “precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” without immediately elaborating.

“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7 – on seven fronts – including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” an Israeli military statement said. “Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond.”

Explosions in Tehran

In Tehran, the Iranian capital, the sound of explosions could be heard, with state-run media there initially acknowledging the blasts and saying some of the sounds came from air defence systems around the city.

ALSO READ: A three-tier war in West Asia with no endgame

Iran has launched two ballistic missile attacks on Israel in recent months amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that began with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel also has launched a ground invasion in Lebanon.

The strike happened just as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was arriving back in the U.S. after a tour of the Middle East where he and other U.S. officials had warned Israel to tender a response that would not further escalate the conflict in the region and exclude nuclear sites in Iran.

New Delhi:

The Russia-Ukraine conflict was discussed in “considerable detail” during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, with New Delhi reiterating that it is “not neutral” in this conflict and remains on the “side of peace”, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

The meeting between the two leaders took place days after PM Modi attended the BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan and in his address at the forum renewed his call for dialogue and diplomacy as being the only way forward to resolve conflicts, in an unambiguous message to press for the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war through peaceful negotiations.

Mr Misri, during a media briefing, was asked how much the Russia-Ukraine conflict and West Asia conflict figured in the Modi-Scholz talks.

“Yes, I can confirm that both issues did come up, and they did come up in considerable details. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) shared with the Chancellor his impressions of his meetings and interactions in the recent months, with the leaders of both Russia and Ukraine, and peace efforts that we are making in pursuing conversation on all sides,” he said.

“Some of the ideas that different actors have been talking about, and how India remains on the side of peace. We are not neutral in this conflict, we are on the side of peace. And, we stand ready to assist any initiative towards peace, benefiting or leveraging the ability that we have of being able to engage with all sides in this conflict,” the foreign secretary added.

India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, PM Modi had said at the BRICS Summit.

In July, PM Modi had visited Russia, marking his first visit since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In August he undertook a visit to Ukraine at the invitation of Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In his meeting with Chancellor Scholz on Friday, PM Modi echoed his words spoken during his historic visit to Kyiv under the shadow of the prolonged conflict.

“We (India) are not neutral. From the very beginning, we have taken sides. And we have chosen the side of peace. We have come from the land of Buddha where there is no place for war,” PM Modi had said in his opening remarks during the talks.

“We have come from the land of Mahatma Gandhi who had given a message of peace to the entire world,” he had said.

Mr Misri said on the conflict in West Asia, “both sides expressed concern” over the developments there, expressed hope that “already serious conflict” which has caused a lot of damage and casualties and destruction, “doesn’t expand further and doesn’t bring more actors into its ambit, and that parties concerned can find path back through dialogue and diplomacy, an reach an agreement on the issues”.

PM Modi on Friday said the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of concern and India is ready to make every possible contribution for restoration of peace.

His remarks came after talks with Chancellor Scholz, who called upon India to contribute to find a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for a long time.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

France’s President Emmanuel Macron listens to Lebanon’s Prime Minister caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, left, during international conference for Lebanon in Paris, Thursday, Oct.24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

France pledged to provide a €100-million ($108-million) package to support Lebanon at an international conference Thursday, as President Emmanuel Macron said “massive aid” is needed to support the country where war between Hezbollah militants and Israel has displaced a million people, killed over 2,500 and deepened an economic crisis.

“In the immediate term, massive aid is needed for the Lebanese population, both for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the war and for the communities hosting them,” Mr. Macron said in his opening speech at the conference.

French organizers hope participants’ financial pledges of humanitarian aid will meet the $426 million the United Nations says is urgently needed.

Italy this week announced new aid of €10 million ($10.8 million) and Germany on Wednesday pledged an additional €60 million ($64.7 million) for people in Lebanon.

Mr. Macron condemned Israel for continuing its military operations in Lebanon, “in the South, in Beirut, elsewhere, and that the number of civilian victims continues to rise,” and reiterated his call for a ceasefire.

Paris also seeks to help restore Lebanon’s sovereignty and strengthen its institutions. The country, where Hezbollah effectively operates as a state within a state, has been without a President for two years while political factions fail to agree on a new one.

But the international conference comes as critics say French President Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic approach in the Middle East has been blurred by his apparent evolving approach and sometimes chaotic communication.

Still, France’s historic links with Lebanon, a former colony, and its influential diplomacy give Paris momentum to coordinate “a proper response to the massive challenge that the war in Lebanon now poses,” said Middle East expert Rym Montaz, editor in chief of Carnegie Europe’s blog Strategic Europe.

The French “are trying to make sure that international donors get to hear firsthand from the actors on the ground in Lebanon who can best describe the most immediate needs caused by the Israeli aggression that has forcibly displaced 20% of the Lebanese population over the course of two weeks,” she said.

Israel in the past month has launched a major aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Lebanon as it targets Hezbollah, with strikes hitting the capital, Beirut, and elsewhere.

The International Organization for Migration has said about 800,000 people are displaced, with many now in overcrowded shelters, while others have fled across the border into Syria.

The cash-strapped Lebanese government is ill-prepared to deal with the crisis or the increased demands on its health system. A number of hospitals have been evacuated because of nearby airstrikes and fears that they might be targeted.

In recent weeks, Mr. Macron appeared to toughen his stance against Israel while repeatedly calling for a cease-fire in both Lebanon and Gaza, condemning the “unbearable human toll.” He reiterated his call on Monday while speaking by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said.

There have been recent tensions between the French and Israeli leaders, especially after Mr. Macron called for a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza.

Mr. Macron has also strongly condemned the “deliberate” targeting by Israel of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, which Israel has denied.

Thursday’s conference involves ministers and officials from over 70 countries and international organizations, including the European Union and regional partners, Mr. Macron’s office said. Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who met with Macron on Wednesday, will attend.

France also aims at coordinating international support to strengthen Lebanon’s armed forces so they can “deploy more broadly and efficiently” in the country’s south as part of a potential deal to end the war. Such a deal could see Hezbollah withdraw its forces from the border.

International support may include equipment, training and financial aid to hire troops and ensure the army’s daily needs, Macron’s office said.

Lebanon’s army has been hit hard by five years of economic crisis. It has an aging arsenal and no air defenses, leaving it in no position to defend against Israeli incursions or confront Hezbollah.

The Lebanese army has about 80,000 troops, around 5,000 of them deployed in the south. Hezbollah has more than 100,000 fighters, according to the militant group’s late leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The militant group’s arsenal — built with support from Iran — is more advanced.

Conference participants also are to discuss how to support the 10,500-soldier-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL. European nations including France, Italy and Spain provide a third of its troops.

Italy, which has over 1,000 troops in the UNIFIL, is notably pushing for the peacekeeping force to be strengthened to “be able to face the new situation” on the ground, an Italian diplomat said, speaking anonymously to discuss ongoing talks.

“What we do know is that without a strengthened Lebanese armed forces and UNIFIL, there can be no sustainable peace and stability at the border between Lebanon and Israel,” Montaz said. “As such, the French efforts are important and crucial for the way forward.”

File picture of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
| Photo Credit: AP

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told Air Force crews on Wednesday that after striking in Iran, the world will understand Israel’s might and its enemies will learn a lesson, according to a video and an X post published by his office.

Israel has been planning a response to a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on October 1, Tehran’s second direct attack on Israel in six months.

“After we attack in Iran, they will understand in Israel and elsewhere what your preparations have included,” Gallant told the crews in the video, which his office said was filmed at Hatzerim Air Base.

On X, Mr. Gallant added: “In my conversation with them I emphasised — after we attack Iran, everyone will understand your might, the process of preparation and training — any enemy that tries to harm the State of Israel will pay a heavy price.”

The Middle East has been on edge in anticipation of the Israeli retaliation for Iran’s attack in which around 200 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel.

In the past few weeks Israel has intensified its offensive against Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza and its Iran-backed ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. The war was triggered a year ago by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

Washington is seeking to head off further widening of the conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Israel’s retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.