French president Macron accuses Israel of ‘sowing barbarism,’ commits to $108 million in aid to Lebanon

Macron said Israel ‘knows from experience that its military successes do not necessarily represent victory in Lebanon.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

At an international conference on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged countries to give “massive” aid to Lebanon and accused Israel of “sowing barbarism” with its operations against Hezbollah.

While pledging a $108 million (100 million euro) aid package, Macron declared, “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.”

The United Nations has recommended $426 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon. In addition to France’s $106 million, Italy has pledged $10.8 million, and Germany has vowed to give $64.7 million.

At the same time, Macron strongly criticized Israel for its military operations in South Lebanon, which has been blamed for the displacement of 800,000 people.

Urging a ceasefire, Macron said, “in the south, in Beirut, elsewhere, and that the number of civilian victims continues to rise.”

Although he briefly criticized Hezbollah for its attacks against Israel, which began on October 8th, he focused his criticism on Israeli strikes against the terror group.

He said Hezbollah should “stop its provocations… and indiscriminate strikes” against Israel.

However, he added that Israel “knows from experience that its military successes do not necessarily represent victory in Lebanon.”

“I’m not sure you can defend a civilization by sowing barbarism yourself,” he added.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah functions like a state within a state, and the country is controlled by dueling factions with no functioning president.

Israel’s Northern Command reports that Hezbollah only has 30% of its rockets and launchers remaining and has lost 2,000 of its terrorists since October 8th last year.

The Northern Command added that just a few more weeks of operations in Lebanon are required to accomplish goals that will allow northern Israeli residents to return home in safety.

According to IDF data, 2,000 Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated since the war began, 1,200 of them since the initial ground operation in Lebanon.

Of the terrorists the IDF eliminated, seven were Hezbollah brigade commanders, 21 were battalion commanders, and 24 were company commanders.

The IDF attacked 3,200 Hezbollah targets, which include weapons depots, launchers, anti-tank positions, and command centers, 300 of them in the last 24 hours.