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
TT

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.



UNICEF: Gaza Fighting Pauses Agreed to Finish Polio Vaccinations

FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
TT

UNICEF: Gaza Fighting Pauses Agreed to Finish Polio Vaccinations

FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

Humanitarian pauses in the war in the Gaza Strip have been agreed to allow a second round of polio vaccinations targeting 590,000 children under the age of 10 to start on Oct. 14, the head of the UN children's agency UNICEF said on Thursday.
"Area-specific humanitarian pauses have been agreed. It is critical that these pauses are respected by all parties. Without them, it is impossible to vaccinate the children," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90% of children under 10 years of age, the United Nations has said. It was carried out in phases over two weeks during humanitarian pauses in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed in August that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
"UNICEF will include Vitamin A supplements to strengthen children's immune systems. Children in Gaza live in extremely dire hygiene and sanitation conditions," Reuters quoted Russell as saying.
"With the additional vaccine equipment and cold boxes that arrived yesterday, UNICEF is ready to deliver and vaccinate children to stop the transmission of polio," she said. "The success of the first round shows that when agreements are respected, we can get the job done."