'Nothing can justify' prolonged Israeli occupation in Lebanon: France
Last updated: June 2, 2026 | 10:57
First responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike that hit near a hospital in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Monday. AFP
France's foreign minister said on Tuesday that nothing could justify Israeli troops remaining deep inside Lebanon, following the deepest incursion into Lebanese territory in two decades.
Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hizbollah clashed overnight despite US President Donald Trump's announcement that both sides had agreed to halt fighting ahead of US-hosted talks between Israel and Lebanon.
"Nothing can justify the continuation of military operations and Israel's prolonged occupation deep inside Lebanese territory," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France TV.
Israeli troops on Sunday seized the Beaufort castle, which commands sweeping views of south Lebanon.
France's Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot talks to the media. File/AP
Israeli forces used the castle, also known as Qalaat al-Chakif, as a base during their previous two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.
Tehran has said that a ceasefire in Lebanon remains a key condition for any deal with Washington to end the Middle East war.