France's top diplomat to visit Lebanon Thursday

France's foreign minister will visit Lebanon on Thursday, the ministry told AFP, after the EU called on 'Israel' to stop its military strikes on the country.

The visit by Jean-Noel Barrot "underlines France's support and solidarity with the Lebanese people, dragged into a war they didn't choose," the foreign ministry said.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah launched rockets at 'Israel' after the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

'Israel' retaliated with strikes that have killed at least 968 people and displaced over a million, according to local authorities.