MED9 leaders pledge support for Lebanon's army in bid to stop Israel-Hezbollah conflict
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged almost daily cross-border fire since the war in Gaza started last October but recent weeks have seen that violence significantly ramp up turning southern Lebanon into a flashpoint.
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00:00The leaders of nine southern EU countries have pledged support for Lebanon's military
00:06to reassert control over the country's south in a bid to end the fighting between Israel
00:11and Hezbollah.
00:13In a joint declaration, the leaders of the Med9 group said they would continue advocating
00:18for the Lebanese armed forces, which are called to play a critical stabilizing role.
00:23The unfolding situation in the Middle East is gravely alarming, the declaration said.
00:30Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged almost daily cross-border fire since the war in Gaza
00:34started last October.
00:37In recent weeks, Israel has carried out increasingly heavy strikes into areas deeper inside Lebanon
00:43and at the end of September launched a ground offensive in the country.
00:47It's estimated there are 15,000 Israeli soldiers operating in Lebanon.
00:52And Hezbollah has also expanded its rocket fire to more populated areas in Israel.
00:58Those tit-for-tat strikes have displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the
01:03border.