Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday called for an end to Israel’s bombardment of neighboring Lebanon “before it collapses.”
“The government of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is at the heart of every crisis in the region,” he told a news conference with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul.
“Israel, pursuing an expansionist policy, is exploiting the current war to bring its dirty war into Lebanon,” he added.
Bakanımız @HakanFidan’ın Almanya Federal Dışişleri Bakanı Johann Wadephul ile Ortak Basın Toplantısı
📍Ankara https://t.co/DiTQtHbzvW
— T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_Disisleri) March 12, 2026
“Israel’s attacks must end before the Lebanese state collapses,” he said, warning that if that were to happen, it would “profoundly affect the entire region,” especially the neighboring countries.
The mass displacement of people in Lebanon is “absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.
Israel, which had kept up its strikes in Lebanon even before the war despite a 2024 ceasefire, has since launched raids from the air and sent ground troops into border areas.
The violence has killed more than 687 people, according to Lebanese authorities, while more than 800,000 have registered as displaced.
© Agence France-Presse