France urges Israel 'to refrain' from seizing south Lebanon zone

"We urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from such ground operations, which would have major humanitarian consequences and would exacerbate the country's already dire situation," Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with AFP. His comments came after Israel earlier said its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border. Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group began firing...