New Delhi [India], April 1 (ANI): Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will visit France and discuss the threats and challenges in West Asia with his counterpart and other senior French administration leaders, the Israeli Embassy said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement issued by the Israeli Embassy quoted Saar's remarks at the international media briefing on Tuesday. 'I will head to Paris for a formal visit. I will discuss, with my counterpart and other seniors in the French administration and the Representatives, the challenges and threats of the radical axis in this region to all of us, mainly Iran. Once again, its leader, only yesterday, declared his will to eliminate the State of Israel.'

The Israeli minister also spoke about the developments in the neighbourhood.

'We expect Lebanon to take action to uproot terrorist organizations acting within its borders against Israel. What we saw here is cooperation between Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas on the soil of Lebanon, in order to initiate terrorist attacks against Israelis.'

He further informed that earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli Defence Forces' (IDF) fighter jets struck a Hezbollah terrorist in Beirut and called him a 'ticking time bomb'.

Saar said, 'Early this morning (very early this morning), IDF fighter jets struck a Hezbollah terrorist in Beirut. He had recently been directing Hamas terrorists and assisting them in an attempt to carry out a major imminent attack against Israeli civilians. The terrorist posed a real and immediate threat, what we call a ticking bomb. Therefore, we had to eliminate the threat. Israel will continue to remove any threat to our citizens.'

He called for Lebanon to take action against terrorist organisations acting within its borders against Israel. 'We expect Lebanon to take action to uproot terrorist organizations acting within its borders against Israel. What we saw here is cooperation between Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas on the soil of Lebanon, in order to initiate terrorist attacks against Israelis.'

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces struck Beirut, for a second time in a week, which resulted in the death of at least four people and endangering the ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Speaking on Hamas, Saar said, 'Hamas continues to push for the renewal of the war, refusing to release our hostages, refusing to disarm. Hamas ignores the will and the rage of the citizens of Gaza. Their interest is the end of the war. But instead of listening to them, Hamas oppressed them brutally. Hamas murdered, after torturing, demonstrators from Gaza Strip this week. '

He further mentioned about a report published by the British Parliament on the October 7 attacks.

Saar said, 'Recently, the British Parliament published the most complete report in the UK on the October 7th massacre, revealing chilling details: among them, about the horrifying sexual crimes committed by Hamas on October 7th. This is not a report from Israel. It is a report from the British Parliament. I recommend to read it.'

Speaking about the recent earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand, Saar said, 'Israel stands with the people of Thailand and Myanmar, following the tragic earthquake that took so many lives. After the tragedy, I spoke with my Thai counterpart. Following our conversation, a mission of twenty-one experts headed to Thailand and provided assistance. This includes medical personnel and engineers. I also authorized the purchase of vital goods and food to help the survivors in Myanmar, through our Embassy.'

Rescuers are searching for survivors more than three days after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, toppling buildings as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok and sending tremors through nearby Chinese provinces, as reported by CNN.

More than 2,000 people are now confirmed dead in Myanmar. Widespread damage was reported after the earthquake caused infrastructural damage, CNN reported citing authorities. (ANI)