French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the “conflict” between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon during a telephone conversation.
“Macron reiterated his grave concern at the escalation of tensions between Hezbollah and Israel… and stressed the urgent need to prevent such a confrontation, which could harm Lebanon’s as well as Israel’s interests,” the French presidency said in a statement.
He also stressed “the need for all parties to move swiftly towards a diplomatic solution” to end the conflict sparked by the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants in Gaza.
“The two leaders discussed ongoing diplomatic efforts in this direction,” the Elysee Palace said ahead of a visit to Paris on Wednesday by US envoy to the conflict, Amos Hochstein.
The Elysee said Macron asked Netanyahu to refrain from any “new operations” in Gaza, near Rafah or Khan Younis, “which would only increase humanitarian losses and make the humanitarian situation even more dire.”
The Israeli military on Monday ordered the evacuation of most areas east of Khan Younis and Rafah on the Egyptian border.
It did not explicitly announce any military operation, but such orders are usually given before major attacks.
The announcement triggered a mass exodus of Palestinians from parts of southern Gaza on Tuesday, as Israeli forces launched deadly offensives and clashes with militants.
The war, which began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, has resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli data.
The militants also took 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, 42 of whom the military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes aimed at clearing Palestinian militants in Gaza have killed at least 37,925 people, the vast majority of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
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