France says it intercepted drones targeting Israel prior to Iran cease-fire

PARIS — France's military took part in efforts to stop Iranian drones targeting Israel prior to this week's cease-fire, the country's defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said late on Wednesday.

"I can confirm that the French army intercepted less than 10 drones in the last few days during the different military operations conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel, either by ground-to-air systems or via our Rafale fighter jets," Lecornu said during a parliamentary debate on the situation in the Middle East.

Lecornu said Iran had launched some 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones towards Israel during the 12-day conflict.

Israel started attacking Iran on June 13, saying it aimed to destroy its arch-enemy's nuclear capabilities. Its strikes wiped out a senior echelon of Iran's military command and killed several nuclear scientists. Iranian authorities said 610 people were killed and nearly 5,000 injured in the country. Human rights organizations estimate hundreds of civilians were killed in the Israeli attacks.

Tehran's retaliatory missiles killed at least 28 people in Israel and damaged hundreds of buildings, until a cease-fire came into effect on Tuesday.

Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta