China hopes that France will work with China to promote de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East and jointly uphold the basic norms of international relations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday.
In a phone conversation with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, urged France to uphold an objective and fair position and maintain a calm and rational approach on the current situation.
During their talks, Barrot elaborated on France's position on the current situation in the Middle East, stressing that France and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, bear special responsibilities for maintaining international peace and security.
He noted that the military action by the United States and Israel against Iran neither sought the opinions of the Security Council nor obtained its authorization, stressing that all parties should now work together to promote de-escalation and resolve the Iran nuclear issue and other issues through negotiations.
China maintains good relations with both Iran and countries in the Gulf region, Barrot said, voicing his hope to work together with China to play a positive role in easing tensions in the region.
For his part, Wang reiterated China's principled position, stressing that the international community should resist any acts that violate international law and must not apply double standards.
Major countries must not use their military advantage to launch arbitrary attacks against other nations, and the world should not revert to the law of the jungle, said Wang.
The Iran nuclear issue should ultimately return to the track of political and diplomatic resolution, he said.
Chinese FM urges joint efforts with France to de-escalate Middle East tensions
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said early Tuesday morning that the Israeli Air Force was striking Hezbollah's command center and weapons storage facilities in Beirut, and attacked Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV in Beirut's southern suburb the same morning.
The Israeli military launched airstrikes Monday on Beirut's southern suburbs and villages in southern Lebanon, displacing thousands of civilians, local broadcaster Al Jadeed TV reported.
The attacks followed evacuation warnings issued by Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee.
Israeli strikes across Lebanon killed at least 52 people and wounded 154 on Monday, the Lebanese government said. The bombardment of southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs displaced more than 28,500 people, the government's disaster management unit reported.
Israel's military said Monday it struck more than 70 sites in Lebanon over the past day, targeting Hezbollah weapons storage facilities, launch sites, and missile launchers.
Tensions escalated after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, prompting retaliatory strikes.
"Hezbollah launched a volley of missiles and a swarm of drones toward Israel shortly before 1 a.m. (on Monday), in response to the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday. After Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing rockets on Haifa and other places in Israel, the Israeli army launched a series of intense strikes on Lebanon at around 2:40 a.m., targeting southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut, causing thousands of people to flee these areas, with the Israeli army announcing an intensification of strikes and several days of fighting," said a China Media Group (CMG) reporter in Beirut.
The Lebanese government declared on Monday that all military and security activities outside state authority are illegal, demanding that Hezbollah disarm and surrender its weapons to state institutions.
"The Lebanese state declares its absolute refusal of any military or security actions taking place on Lebanese soil outside the framework of its legitimate institutions and affirms that the decision of war and peace rests in the hands of the Lebanese state alone," the Council of Ministers said in a statement issued after a Cabinet meeting, according to local television channel al-Jadeed.
The Cabinet said that Hezbollah's armed activities violate state authority and ordered security agencies to prevent the launch of rockets or drones from Lebanese territory and apprehend violators.
The Cabinet reaffirmed Lebanon's dissociation from regional conflicts and called for intensified diplomacy to secure a ceasefire and a clear Israeli commitment to halt attacks on Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammed Raad, who heads the group's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, criticized the government decision, noting that the move targets groups confronting Israeli attacks while failing to halt what he described as ongoing aggression.
Israeli strikes hit Beirut targets, Lebanese gov't bans Hezbollah military activities
