French foreign minister visits Lebanon in effort to contain Gaza conflict

France's foreign minister travels to Lebanon this Saturday as part of diplomatic efforts by President Emmanuel Macron's government to help contain the Middle East conflict.

A picture taken from the village of Aitaroun in the south of Lebanon shows smoke billowing from near the border with Israel on 14 December 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip. © AFP

Speaking ahead of Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna's trip, foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said: "We must avoid a regional eruption."

Colonna will call for "restraint" and "responsibility" to avoid a new frontline on the Israeli-Lebanese border, he said.

Fears of a widening war have been growing, with Iran-backed groups targeting US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria, and exchanges of fire along Israel's border with Lebanon.

There have been near-daily cross-border exchanges between Hezbollah – an Iran-backed Hamas ally in Lebanon – and Israel since the Palestinian group's deadly 7 October attacks on Israel.

In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a military offensive on the Gaza Strip that has left swathes of the Palestinian territory in ruins. 

'South Lebanon into Gaza'

Along the Israel-Lebanon border violence has remained relatively limited, with 128 killed in total, including 90 Hezbollah fighters and at least 11 Israelis.

But Israel has stepped up its shelling while issuing warnings to the Hezbollah leadership.

During a visit to troops along the Lebanese border last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "If Hezbollah chooses to wage a full-fledged war on us, then it will transform, with its own hands, Beirut and South Lebanon into Gaza and Khan Yunis [a city in southern Gaza]."

• Hezbollah says 'total war possible' as France warns of Lebanese fallout

Western governments, notably France and the United States, are stepping up behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to stop the situation from deteriorating.

The risk of full-out war is "very real" if the Lebanese side underestimates Israel's determination to protect its borders in the aftermath of the October attack, a French diplomatic source told news agency AFP.

But French diplomats and security officials also believe that Israel needs to be reminded that any wider conflict would not guarantee regional security, the source said.

'Reiterate French appeals'

In Lebanon, Colonna will "reiterate French appeals for responsibility and restraint", Lemoine said.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna gives a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, on 14 October 2022. © AP / Hussein Malla

Israel's reported objective is for Hezbollah forces to move back from the border by 40 kilometres. In particular, they want Hezbollah's elite al-Radwan unit – equipped with heavy artillery – to back off, a Western diplomatic source in Beirut told AFP.

Meanwhile Hezbollah claims it has no visible presence in the border region, and says it won't discuss the question while Israel continues its offensive on Gaza.

• Iran urges 'resistance front' against Israel amid clashes on Lebanese border

France maintains discussions should start on the basis of the United Nations Security Council's Resolution 1701, which states that only the official Lebanese army and the UN's Unifil peacekeeping force can be deployed in southern Lebanon.

France is the biggest contributor to Unifil with 700 soldiers, to whom Colonna could pay a visit on Saturday.

The UN force has been targeted by Israeli fire since the start of the violence, with France condemning "any violation of the safety" of the UN soldiers.

The French foreign minister is scheduled to travel to Israel and the occupied West Bank on Sunday.

French hostages

French officials are also seeking the release of French hostages among the around 240 people seized by Hamas militants in the October raids.

The Israeli army announced Friday that it had recovered the body of French-Israeli hostage Elya Toledano, a 28-year-old seized at a desert rave when the attack occurred.

Hamas released dozens of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a week-long truce last month, but several are still being held and others have been found dead.

Colonna said France was "deeply saddened to hear the Israeli armed forces announce the death of our compatriot Elya Toledano, a Hamas hostage whose body was found in Gaza". 

"We share the grief of his family and loved ones. The release of all hostages is our priority," she wrote on X.

Immense peine à l'annonce par les forces armées israéliennes du décès de notre compatriote Elia Toledano, otage du Hamas et dont la dépouille a été retrouvée à Gaza.
Nous partageons la douleur de sa famille et de ses proches.

La libération de tous les otages est notre priorité.

— Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) December 15, 2023

(with AFP)