By using this website you agree that we use cookies. You can find out more in the privacy policy.
Bombay Durpun - In Lebanon, top French diplomat seeks Israel-Hezbollah de-escalation
-
-
Choose a language
Automatically close in : 3
Wie gewohnt mit Werbung lesen
Nutzen Sie Bombay Durpun mit personalisierter Werbung, Werbetracking, Nutzungsanalyse und externen Multimedia-Inhalten. Details zu Cookies und Verarbeitungszwecken sowie zu Ihrer jederzeitigen Widerrufsmöglichkeit finden Sie unten, im Cookie-Manager sowie in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
Use Bombay Durpun with personalised advertising, ad tracking, usage analysis and external multimedia content. Details on cookies and processing purposes as well as your revocation option at any time can be found below, in the cookie manager as well as in our privacy policy.
Utilizar Bombay Durpun con publicidad personalizada, seguimiento de anuncios, análisis de uso y contenido multimedia externo. Los detalles sobre las cookies y los propósitos de procesamiento, así como su opción de revocación en cualquier momento, se pueden encontrar a continuación, en el gestor de cookies, así como en nuestra política de privacidad.
Utilisez le Bombay Durpun avec des publicités personnalisées, un suivi publicitaire, une analyse de l'utilisation et des contenus multimédias externes. Vous trouverez des détails sur les cookies et les objectifs de traitement ainsi que sur votre possibilité de révocation à tout moment ci-dessous, dans le gestionnaire de cookies ainsi que dans notre déclaration de protection des données.
Utilizzare Bombay Durpun con pubblicità personalizzata, tracciamento degli annunci, analisi dell'utilizzo e contenuti multimediali esterni. I dettagli sui cookie e sulle finalità di elaborazione, nonché la possibilità di revocarli in qualsiasi momento, sono riportati di seguito nel Cookie Manager e nella nostra Informativa sulla privacy.
Utilizar o Bombay Durpun com publicidade personalizada, rastreio de anúncios, análise de utilização e conteúdo multimédia externo. Detalhes sobre cookies e fins de processamento, bem como a sua opção de revogação em qualquer altura, podem ser encontrados abaixo, no Gestor de Cookies, bem como na nossa Política de Privacidade.
France's top diplomat on Sunday urged de-escalation between Israel and the Hezbollah movement during his second visit to Lebanon since cross-border tensions flared alongside the Gaza war.
Text size:
Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group have exchanged near-daily fire since Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza.
Fighting has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel striking deeper into Lebanese territory, while Hezbollah has stepped up its missile and drone attacks on military positions in northern Israel.
The United States has led diplomatic efforts to halt violence along the border with Israel, with France also seeking ways to calm tensions.
Paris presented to both Lebanon and Israel an initiative earlier this year seeking to end hostilities.
"We refuse a worst-case scenario... No one has any interest in Israel and Hezbollah continuing this escalation. This is my message here," French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne told reporters in Beirut.
He said he "will bring this same message to Israel on Tuesday,"
Hezbollah has repeatedly declared that only a ceasefire in Gaza will put an end to its attacks on Israel.
A French diplomatic source told AFP that the volume of cross-border attacks had doubled since April 13.
Ahead of the press conference Sejourne met Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati, army chief Joseph Aoun and influential parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.
- Proposals 'to avoid war' -
A return to stability "requires the redeployment of armed forces in southern Lebanon," he added, referring to a region where Hezbollah holds sway.
In March, Beirut submitted its response to the French initiative, based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The resolution called for the removal of weapons in southern Lebanon from everyone except the army and other state security forces.
The objective of that roadmap, Sejourne said, "is to achieve the full implementation by all parties of Security Council Resolution 1701."
Berri and Mikati both said that Lebanon was keen on implementing the UN resolution, according to separate statements following their meetings with Sejourne.
"The French initiative constitutes a practical framework for implementing Resolution 1701, which Lebanon is committed to implementing in full, while demanding Israel commit to it and stop its destructive aggression against southern Lebanon," Mikati said in a statement.
More than four years into an economic collapse, and essentially leaderless, Lebanon is ill-prepared for regional conflict.
Mikati has for about two years headed a caretaker government with reduced powers after a general election failed to deliver a majority to either of Lebanon's rival power blocs.
The country has not had a president since late 2022 when Michel Aoun's mandate ended without agreement on a successor.
"Without an elected president, without a fully-functioning government, Lebanon will not... be invited to the discussion table," he said.
Earlier in the day Sejourne visited the headquarters of the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), which includes around 700 French troops.
Sejourne reiterated that Paris has been making proposals to "avoid war in Lebanon".
Since October 8 at least 385 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 254 Hezbollah fighters and dozens of civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israel says 11 soldiers and nine civilians have been killed on its side of the border.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides.