\n<\/p>\n
Canada has said that it \u201cstrongly condemns\u201d Israel\u2019s plans to occupy southern Lebanon and warned that Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity \u201cmust not be violated\u201d, amid plans by Israeli forces to mount a major ground invasion of its northern neighbour.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s preparations to invade and take control of territory up to 30km (18.6 miles) inside Lebanon\u2019s southern border come as the death toll in Lebanon<\/span> from Israeli attacks has risen to at least 1,072 people, with almost 3,000 wounded, since the start of this month.<\/p>\n More than a million people have also been displaced by weeks of Israeli attacks in the south and east of the country, as well as the capital, Beirut, while warnings of a humanitarian crisis<\/span> are being made at all levels, as Israel\u2019s ground incursion looms.<\/p>\n Expressing \u201csolidarity\u201d with the Lebanese government and people of Lebanon, Canada\u2019s Ministry of Global Affairs said on Wednesday that all sides in the conflict must \u201cact in accordance with international law\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe urge all parties to protect civilians, refrain from attacks on infrastructure, health workers, and peacekeepers,\u201d the ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, France\u2019s Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot also said that Israel should refrain from its planned occupation of southern Lebanon, warning that such a move would have a dire impact on civilians.<\/p>\n \u201cWe urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from such ground operations, which would have major humanitarian consequences and would exacerbate the country\u2019s already dire situation,\u201d Barrot told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n The French and Canadian statements come after Israel announced that its military will take control of south Lebanese territory up to the Litani River, some 30km from the Israeli border.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s Minister of Defence Israel Katz said the military \u201cwill control\u2026 the security zone up to the Litani\u201d, adding that displaced Lebanese residents would not be permitted to return to their homes south of the river \u201cuntil security is guaranteed for the residents of the north\u201d of Israel.<\/p>\n Raising the spectre of Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza, Katz said that Israel\u2019s military was \u201cfollowing the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoon\u201d in Lebanon, two cities that were effectively razed to the ground amid the war on the Palestinian enclave.<\/p>\n On Monday, Israel\u2019s far-right Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich<\/span> went even further in calling for Israel\u2019s official annexation of southern Lebanon, saying that a \u201cchange of Israel\u2019s borders\u201d was necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cI say here definitively\u2026 in every room and in every discussion, too: The new Israeli border must be the Litani\u201d, he said in an interview.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s preparations to invade southern Lebanon have included bombing bridges spanning the Litani River and bombing Lebanese homes close to the border that separates the two countries.<\/p>\n Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called Israel\u2019s attack on the Qasmiyeh Bridge on Sunday \u2013 a key to the south of the country \u2013 a \u201cprelude to ground invasion\u201d.<\/p>\n Lebanese state media cited the Ministry of Health early on Wednesday as saying that nine people had been killed in Israel\u2019s most recent attacks on Lebanon.<\/p>\n Four people were killed in an \u201cIsraeli enemy raid\u201d on the southern town of Adloun, and another two were killed in a strike on an apartment in the Mieh Mieh refugee camp, with four others wounded, according to reports. An earlier Israeli raid on the town of Habboush, also in the south, killed at least three people and wounded 18 others.<\/p>\n In northern Israel \u2013 as repeated air raid sirens sent residents to safety shelters \u2013 a woman was killed on Tuesday following rocket fire from Lebanon, Israeli authorities said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n