Israel Yet to Respond to French Lebanon Proposals

FILE PHOTO: Razor wire lies near an abandoned house, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Razor wire lies near an abandoned house, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
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Israel Yet to Respond to French Lebanon Proposals

FILE PHOTO: Razor wire lies near an abandoned house, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Razor wire lies near an abandoned house, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

Israel has not given a response to France on Paris' proposals to reduce tensions between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah, France's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in escalating daily cross-border strikes over the past months - in parallel with the war in Gaza - and their increasing range and sophistication has raised fears of a wider regional conflict.

France has historical ties with Lebanon and has proposed written proposals to both sides that would see Hezbollah's elite unit pull back 10 km (6 miles) from the Israeli border, while Israel would halt strikes in southern Lebanon, Reuters reported.

Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne went to both Lebanon and Israel in April to push France's efforts, and Israel's foreign minister was in Paris earlier this month. Lebanon's foreign minister was in Paris for talks on Wednesday.

"We have had a relatively positive response from the Lebanese, but I think we have not had any return from Israel at this point," Christophe Lemoine told reporters in a daily briefing.

The written proposal also looks at long-term border issues and had been discussed with partners including the United States, which has its own efforts to ease tensions and exerts the most influence on Israel.



Israel Recommends UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Relocate 5 Km North

The base of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Ebel El Saqi Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 10 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER
The base of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Ebel El Saqi Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 10 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER
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Israel Recommends UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Relocate 5 Km North

The base of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Ebel El Saqi Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 10 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER
The base of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Ebel El Saqi Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 10 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said Thursday Israel was focused on fighting Lebanon’s Hezbollah and recommends "UNIFIL relocate 5 km (3 miles) north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies.”

Reuters reported last week that the Israeli military had sent a message asking UN peacekeepers to prepare to move "as soon as possible, in order to maintain your safety.”

Danon added that "Israel has no desire to be in Lebanon, but it will do what is necessary" to drive Hezbollah away from its northern border so 70,000 displaced residents can return to their homes in northern Israel.

Israeli forces fired on positions used by the UN peacekeepers on Wednesday and Thursday, the UN force said, as Israel warned Lebanese civilians not to return to homes in the south and pursued a widening offensive against Hezbollah.

The UNIFIL force said two of its peacekeepers were injured in one of the incidents when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the force's main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura, hitting the tower and causing them to fall. There were no casualties in the other two incidents, a UN source said.

"Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law," UNIFIL said in a statement, adding that it was following up with the Israeli military.