Leaders from nine European countries around the Mediterranean have called for an end to fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned as "unacceptable" Israeli firing on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, a stance echoed by Spain's prime minister.
The three countries together have around 2,000 troops in the UNIFIL mission, which said Israeli tank fire led to the injury of two of its peacekeepers yesterday.
It said two more were hurt after "explosions" near an observation tower today.
Mr Macron called it "absolutely unacceptable" that UN troops are "deliberately targeted by the Israeli armed forces". He added that France "will not tolerate" a repeat.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez demanded an "end to all violence" against the peacekeepers in Lebanon, and his Italian counterpart Meloni said: "It is not acceptable."
In a joint statement later, the three leaders expressed "outrage" at the peacekeeper injuries and said the "attacks" violate Security Council Resolution 1701, under which only the UN and Lebanon's army are to be present in southernmost Lebanon.
"Those attacks are unjustifiable and shall immediately come to an end," the statement demanded, calling for "an immediate ceasefire."
Israel's military said its soldiers fired toward a "threat" and hit a UNIFIL post. A day earlier they said they had fired in the area of the UN base, as Hezbollah fighters were operating in the area.
There are currently 277 Irish personnel serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon. The Defence Forces have said that none of the Irish troops have been involved in incidents involving Israeli forces.
Ceasefire 'indispensable'
Since late last month Israeli forces have escalated operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, as the war against Hezbollah's ally, Palestinian militants Hamas, continues in Gaza.
"Only a few miles away from Cyprus, we have a war. We have a difficult situation," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said as he opened the summit.
Known as MED9, the grouping also brought together leaders from Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia and Croatia, along with the king of Jordan, Abdullah II, for the one-day meeting in the city of Paphos.
Mr Christodoulides said MED9 called for an end to hostilities in Gaza and Lebanon, and a resumption of talks.
Mr Macron added that this "ceasefire is indispensable for both Gaza and Lebanon."
The French president angered Israel's government last weekend by suggesting that countries should "stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza", while specifying that France was not supplying any itself.
At the summit, he said that "stopping the export of weapons" used in Gaza and Lebanon was the only way to end fighting there.
"This is not in any way a call to disarm Israel against the threats against this country and its people, our friends," Mr Macron added.
The leaders also discussed getting more aid into Gaza, for which Jordan presented a new plan.
"France will contribute to it," Mr Macron said.
Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in conflict
Lebanon has also urged the United Nations to demand an "immediate" ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, nearly three weeks into a war that has killed 1,200 people and displaced more than a million others.
The call came after Israel appeared to target Hezbollah's security chief in air strikes on Beirut that killed 22 people, the deadliest on the centre of the capital since the conflict erupted.
In a televised address, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the foreign ministry would ask the UN Security Council to issue a resolution calling for a "full and immediate ceasefire".
Calling for the Lebanese army and peacekeepers to be the only armed forces deployed in the south of the country, he said that "Hezbollah is in agreement on this issue" - though the group has yet to comment on his speech.
Hezbollah is heavily armed and controls large swathes of Lebanon, and successive Lebanese governments have failed to subdue it.
Hezbollah has fought Israel numerous times in recent decades, while the weak Lebanese military has been mostly unable to deploy in many areas under the militants' control.
After a year of cross-border fire, Israel escalated its strikes on Hezbollah strongholds and sent ground troops into south Lebanon, in a bid to secure its northern border.
Since 23 September the war has killed more than 1,200 people, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, and displaced more than a million others.
The worst-affected areas are home to majority Shia Muslims, where Hezbollah built its support base by providing protection and services in a state long wracked by sectarianism and corruption.
However Christian villagers near the border have also been trapped in the cross-fire.
"When Israel bombards, it flies over our heads. And when Hezbollah fires back, it also whizzes by above," Christian Joseph Jarjour told AFP by phone from the border village of Rmeish.
"We're peaceful, we don't have any weapons. We've never liked war," he said.
Ceasefire calls
Mr Mikati's statement is the latest in a chorus of calls for a de-escalation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced hope for a diplomatic solution and averting a broader conflict, as he backed efforts by the state to assert itself against Hezbollah.
"It's clear that the people of Lebanon have an interest - a strong interest - in the state asserting itself and taking responsibility for the country and its future."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week urged Lebanese people to rise up against Hezbollah, or risk a similar fate to the people of Hamas-run Gaza.
"Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end," he said.
Thrust into the spotlight was the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, tasked with patrolling areas along the border.
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In central Beirut, residents, some weeping, were checking their homes and asking for news of neighbours, after a strike last night that appeared to target Hezbollah's security chief killed 22 people.
"The head of Hezbollah's security apparatus, Wafiq Safa, was targeted," a source close to Hezbollah told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss the matter.
Mr Safa was close to Hezbollah's late leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike on south Beirut last month.
People in the neighbourhood were stunned by the ferocity of the strike.
"There are a lot of families living here," many displaced from south Lebanon and who have relatives in the neighbourhood, said Bilal Othman.
"Do they (Israel) want to tell us there is no safe place left in this country?"
Promised retaliation
Hezbollah began firing on Israel in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, following the attack on 7 October last year, the worst in Israel's history.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring back the hostages seized by militants on 7 October.
More recently, with Hamas weakened but not crushed in Gaza, Mr Netanyahu promised to secure Israel's northern border with Lebanon, in order to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced from their homes by Hezbollah's cross-border fire to return.
With Lebanon deep in political and economic crisis for years, the power and influence of Hezbollah has become ever more entrenched in the Mediterranean country.
A stark symbol of the failure of Lebanese institutions to maintain even a semblance of rule of law was the Beirut port explosion of 2020, which killed more than 200 people and for which there has been no justice to date.
Israel has also promised to retaliate against Iran's missile attack last week, which Iran had said was vengeance for the assassination of two of its closest allies, Hezbollah leader Mr Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, along with an Iranian general.
Iran's permanent representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, told the UN Security Council that his country was "fully prepared to defend its sovereignty" if attacked.
Mr Biden has cautioned Israel against attempting to target Iran's nuclear facilities and opposes striking oil installations.
