EU’s Kallas urges ‘heavy-handed’ Israel to end strikes in Lebanon – POLITICO

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged Israel to halt its attacks in Lebanon, which she said went beyond self-defense against Hezbollah and endangered the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement.

“Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war, but Israel’s right to defend itself does not justify inflicting such massive destruction,” Kallas wrote in a post on X. “Israeli strikes killed hundreds last night, making it hard to argue such heavy-handed actions fall within self-defense.”

The criticism comes after Lebanon’s health minister said at least 203 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday, ramping up pressure on Israel to wind down its campaign against Hezbollah following similar criticism from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.