French President calls for avoiding war in Middle East

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Thursday on all parties to work to "avoid war" in the Middle East, expressing his "deep" concern following a series of explosions in Lebanon. The French BFM news station quoted the Elysee Palace as saying that Macron spoke by phone today with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The station quoted Macron as expressing his solidarity with the Lebanese people and his condolences to the families of the civilian victims. The Elysee Palace explained that Macron expressed his deep concern following a series of explosions in Lebanon, stressing that they "contribute to a dangerous escalation of tensions in the region, endangering the civilian population." The French President called on the Lebanese parties to "show responsibility" to avoid escalation and sent messages of "restraint and moderation." It is noteworthy that the Lebane se Minister of Health, Dr. Firas Al-Abyad, confirmed in a press conference earlier today that the total number of victims of the wireless communications device explosions that rocked his country in the past two days is 37 dead and 2,931 injured. ( Source: Kuwait News Agency