Ministers from Germany and Norway had to call off a trip to Beirut on Monday as Israel continued its assault on the city, the pair's press services said. German minister for international development Reem Alabali Radovan and Norwegian counterpart Asmund Aukrust had to abort and head back to Berlin "for military reasons" as they approached Beirut airport owing to a "rapidly worsening situation," a spokesperson for Alabali Radovan told AFP. The ministers had hoped to make the visit to show solidarity with the Lebanese people, but their German military aircraft finally had to land in Cyprus ahead of a return to Berlin, Norwegian daily VG reported. A Norwegian government spokesman confirmed to AFP the trip had been scrapped. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier had called on the Israeli army to hit southern Beirut, saying they were going after "terrorist" targets. On Sunday he had ordered the scaling up of Israel's Lebanon offensive with Israeli forces hitting positions of Iran-allied Hezbollah fighters. "More than 3,000 people have been killed since March" in Israel's deepest incursion into Lebanon in two decades, Aukrust told VG by telephone. "What is happening now makes it all the more important to show our solidarity," Aukrust added. He said the Lebanese people "must know that where Norway is concerned we shall continue to fight for them and for international humanitarian law," he went on. Alabali Radovan called on "all sides" to de-escalate the fighting and urged ceasefire talks. VG reported the ministers had been scheduled to meet with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, as well as civil society groups and displaced persons. Iran earlier stressed a ceasefire in Lebanon remained a condition for any Mideast peace deal with the United States.
