French officials shared on Tuesday proposals made to Lebanese authorities to defuse tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said as Paris attempts to work as an intermediary between the sides.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in escalating daily cross-border strikes over the past six months - in parallel with the war in Gaza - and their increasing range and sophistication has raised fears of a wider regional conflict, Reuters reported.
Hezbollah has amassed a formidable arsenal since 2006 and since October thousands of people on both sides of the border have been displaced.
"A number of proposals that we made to the Lebanese side have been shared (with you)," Sejourne said ahead of a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem.
"We have a relationship with Lebanon, 20,000 citizens there and the war in 2006 was particularly dramatic for them."
Sejourne was in Lebanon on Sunday where he met officials including politicians close to Hezbollah. French officials say they had seen progress in the responses from Lebanese authorities.
Sejourne said the basis of the proposals was to ensure UN resolution 1701 was implemented.
Hezbollah has said it will not enter any concrete discussion until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, where the war between Israel and the Hamas group s in its seventh month.
Israel has flagged a potential military operation along its northern front, saying it wants to restore calm on the border with Lebanon so thousands of Israelis can return to the area without fear of rocket attacks, even if Hezbollah has said it will not stop exchanges until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
France has historical ties with Lebanon, a large expatriate population in the country and some 700 troops as part of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.
Sejourne presented this year a written proposal to both sides that included Hezbollah's elite unit pulling back 10km (6 miles) from the Israeli border and Israel halting strikes in southern Lebanon.
It also looked at long-term border issues and was discussed with partners including the United States, which is making its own efforts to ease tensions and exert the most influence on Israel.
Katz thanked France for its help in intercepting Iranian missiles and drones in an attack on Israel in April.
"It was a message that regional states participated in that because it was very important in regards to what we can expect in the future," he said

At least eight children have been killed and 75 injured in Lebanon in the ongoing conflict along the country’s border with Israel, UNICEF has said.
Out of 90,000 people displaced by the conflict in south Lebanon, 30,000 are children, UNICEF said in a report. It said that 20,000 students have been impacted by the partial or total closure of 72 schools in the conflict zone.
Children in Lebanon have also suffered as a result of disruptions to services including health care and water and are struggling with mental health issues because of the violence, the report said Monday.
More than 350 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon over nearly seven months of near-daily cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces. The conflict escalated after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7.
Most of those killed were fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups, but more than 50 civilians have also been killed. In addition to eight children, 21 women were killed in the first six months of fighting, UNICEF reported. On the Israeli side, strikes from Lebanon have killed at least 10 civilians and 12 soldiers.

Representatives of rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah made “encouraging progress” in recent talks in the Chinese capital on promoting reconciliation, China's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian gave few details at a daily briefing, but the meeting in Beijing is China's latest attempt to position itself as a broker in the Middle East as an alternative to the US and its Western allies, most often seen as backing Israel.
Lin said representatives of the two groups were invited by China and “recently came to Beijing to have an in-depth and candid dialogue on promoting Palestinian reconciliation.” He said they “had discussions on many specific issues and made encouraging progress.”
Hamas has been under siege by Israel in Gaza since launching Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel, while Fatah’s rule of the West Bank is under severe stress amid an expanding Israeli presence, a morbid economy and widespread accusations of corruption.
“The sides agreed to continue this dialogue process so as to achieve Palestinian solidarity and unity at an early date,” Lin said.
“They highly appreciated China’s firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights, thanked the Chinese side for its efforts to help strengthen Palestinian internal unity and reached an agreement on ideas for future dialogue,” he said.
Hamas has said for more than 15 years that it could accept a two-state compromise with Israel, but has refused to say it would recognize Israel or renounce its armed fight against it.
For Israel and others, especially in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, that’s proof that Hamas is still committed to destroying Israel. The United States and European countries have joined Israel in shunning the militant group, which they have labeled a terrorist organization.
Ties between Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ′ Fatah faction have long been fraught. In 2006, after Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections, it entered talks with the Palestinian Authority over a unity government. During the negotiations, Ismail Haniyeh, who is now Hamas’ top political leader, said the group supported a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines “at this stage, but in return for a cease-fire, not recognition.”
The two groups eventually reached a deal under which the unity government, including Hamas, would “respect” the Palestinian Authority’s peace agreements with Israel. It was a formula that allowed Hamas to avoid accepting the accords and recognizing Israel.
Israel and the US refused to recognize the unity government and imposed economic sanctions. The government quickly collapsed amid fighting between Hamas and Fatah, ending with Hamas’ 2007 takeover of Gaza.
China has long recognized a Palestinian state as part of its Cold War strategy to build ties with the developing world and undermine Western support for Israel. In recent years, however, it has sought to engage both sides, appointing a special envoy for Middle Eastern affairs to hold talks with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
In other recent diplomatic developments, Hamas officials have left Cairo after talks with Egyptian officials on a new proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News satellite channel said Tuesday.
The channel, which has close ties with Egyptian security agencies, said a Hamas delegation will return to Cairo with a written response to the cease-fire proposal, without saying when.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Israel on his latest trip to the region, which began Monday in Saudi Arabia. He said Israel needs to do more to allow aid to enter Gaza, but that the best way to alleviate the humanitarian crisis is for the two sides to agree to a cease-fire.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed Tuesday to Jordan where he will discuss ways to boost aid deliveries into Gaza and quietly thank the kingdom for its help during recent Iran-Israel clashes.
Blinken flew to Amman after talks with Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh, part of his seventh tour of the region since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, AFP said.
The US top diplomat will meet Jordan's King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi as well as the UN humanitarian aid and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag.
Later in the day, Blinken will head to Israel where he will discuss the latest negotiations aimed at securing a temporary ceasefire and a release of hostages.
President Joe Biden's administration, despite criticism abroad and rising fury on US university campuses, has supported Israel in its relentless campaign against Hamas but also urged its ally to do more to protect civilians.
"President Biden has insisted that Israel take specific, concrete, measurable steps to better address humanitarian suffering, civilian harm and the safety of aid workers in Gaza," Blinken told Gulf Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh on Monday.
"We have seen measurable progress in the last few weeks, including the opening of new crossings, an increased volume of aid delivery to Gaza and within Gaza, and the building of the US maritime corridor, which will open in the coming weeks," Blinken said.
"But it is not enough. We still need to get more aid in and around Gaza," he said.
Biden warned Israel that future support was at stake after an April 1 Israeli strike killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity Spanish-American chef Jose Andres.
The United States said that Israel has since taken steps to avoid such deaths in the future, including coordinating more directly with aid groups working in Gaza.
But the situation remains dire in Gaza, where the vast majority of residents have fled their homes and the United Nations has warned of looming famine.
The Biden administration is addressing the crisis by building a temporary pier to bring in aid, an extraordinary step to deal with concerns about a friendly country and major recipient of US assistance.
Jordan, which has diplomatic relations with Israel and a large Palestinian population, is especially sensitive to tensions in the Palestinian territories.
Jordan has insisted that it does not want to be caught in the middle of the conflict.

Leaked photographs of the son of Libya’s late Moammar Gadhafi and the tiny underground cell where he has been held for years in Lebanon have raised concerns in the north African nation as Libyan authorities demand improvements.
The photos showed a room without natural light packed with Hannibal Gadhafi’s belongings, a bed and a tiny toilet. “I live in misery,” local Al-Jadeed TV quoted the detainee as saying in a Saturday evening broadcast, adding that he is a political prisoner in a case he has no information about.
Two Lebanese judicial officials confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that the photographs aired by Al-Jadeed are of Gadhafi and the cell where he has been held for years at police headquarters in Beirut. Gadhafi appeared healthy, with a light beard and glasses.
A person who is usually in contact with Gadhafi, a Libyan citizen, said the photos were taken in recent days. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media outlets.
Gadhafi has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria, where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information about the fate of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr, who went missing during a trip to Libya in 1978.
The fate of al-Sadr has been a sore point in Lebanon. His family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume al-Sadr, who would be 95 now, is dead.
A Libyan delegation visited Beirut in January to reopen talks with Lebanese officials on the fate of al-Sadr and the release of Gadhafi. The talks were aimed at reactivating a dormant agreement between Lebanon and Libya, struck in 2014, for cooperation in the probe of al-Sadr. The delegation did not return to Beirut as planned.
The leaks by Al-Jadeed came after reports that Gadhafi was receiving special treatment at police headquarters and that he had cosmetic surgeries including hair transplants and teeth improvements. Al-Jadeed quoted him as saying: “Let them take my hair and teeth and give me my freedom.”
Gadhafi went on a hunger strike in June last year and was taken to a hospital after his health deteriorated.
Libya’s Justice Ministry in a statement Sunday said Gadhafi is being deprived of his rights guaranteed by law. It called on Lebanese authorities to improve his living conditions to one that “preserves his dignity," adding that Lebanese authorities should formally inform the ministry of the improvements. It also said Gadhafi deserves to be released.
After he was kidnapped in 2015, Lebanese authorities freed him but then detained him, accusing him of concealing information about al-Sadr’s disappearance.
Al-Sadr was the founder of the Amal group, a Shiite militia that fought in Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war and later became a political party that is currently led by the country’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Many of al-Sadr’s followers are convinced that Moammar Gadhafi ordered al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias. Libya has maintained that the cleric, along with two traveling companions, left Tripoli in 1978 on a flight to Rome.
Human Rights Watch issued a statement in January calling for Gadhafi’s release. The rights group noted that Gadhafi was only 2 years old at the time of al-Sadr’s disappearance and held no senior position in Libya as an adult.

US President Joe Biden on Monday urged the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to "exert all efforts" towards securing the release of hostages held by Hamas as part of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, the White House said.

Washington, Doha and Cairo have been mediating for months to achieve a truce in the Palestinian territory which has endured relentless bombing by Israel in response to the unprecedented deadly attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7.

Representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Hamas met Monday in Cairo, with the Palestinian group expected to respond to a proposal for a second truce in Gaza, coupled with a fresh release of hostages.

In separate phone calls Biden spoke with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and discussed "the deal now on the table," the White House said in nearly identical statements, according to Agence France Presse.

Biden urged the leaders "to exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas as this is now the only obstacle to an immediate ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza," the White House said.

A source close to Hamas told AFP that the group's delegation was keen to respond "as quickly as possible" to the proposal.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, visiting Riyadh, said he was hopeful Hamas would accept the offer, which he characterized as "extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel."

The deal would include a "sustained 40 days' ceasefire" along with the release potentially of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, in exchange for the return of hostages held by Hamas, Britain's top diplomat David Cameron said.

Since the start of the war, a single week-long truce was declared, in late November.

Hamas was studying Tuesday Israel's offer of a 40-day truce in the war in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of scores of hostages held since the Palestinian group's October 7 attacks.
Returning to Qatar after the latest talks in Cairo, the Hamas delegation said it would "discuss the ideas and the proposal... we are keen to respond as quickly as possible," a Hamas source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Egyptian sources told Al-Qahera News, a site linked to Egyptian intelligence services, that the Hamas delegation would "return with a written response".
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the truce terms as "extraordinarily generous", while the White House asked fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar to increase pressure on Hamas to accept the latest push to halt the nearly seven-month-old war.
According to Monday night call readouts, US President Joe Biden urged the Egyptian and Qatari leaders "to exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas", calling this "the only obstacle" to securing relief for civilians in the besieged strip.
For months, Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to secure a new agreement between the combatants. A one-week truce in November saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Relentless Israeli bombardment has meanwhile devastated Hamas-run Gaza, flattening much of the territory and bringing its people to the brink of famine, while threatening to unfurl into a wider regional conflict.
In the far southern city of Rafah, Palestinians despaired over the war while searching for victims of the latest strike.
"Civilian individuals with no ties to Hamas or any other group were struck by a rocket, torn apart," Um Louay Masri said at a destroyed building where children were being pulled out from underneath the rubble. "Why did this occur?"
To global alarm, Israel has vowed to go after Hamas battalions in Rafah, where the majority of Gaza's 2.4 million people have sought refuge.
But Foreign Minister Israel Katz said over the weekend the government may "suspend" that operation if a truce is reached.
Two-state solution talks
Speaking in Riyadh on his seventh visit to the region since the start of the war in Gaza, top US diplomat Blinken underscored the need for Hamas to "decide quickly" on the truce.
He told a World Economic Forum special meeting that he was "hopeful that they will make the right decision".
At the WEF meeting, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said "the proposal has taken into account the positions of both sides".
"We are hopeful," he added.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Hamas has been offered a "sustained 40 days' ceasefire, the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners, in return for the release of these hostages".
On the sidelines of the WEF, US, European and Arab representatives met to discuss how to advance a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the gathering that tangible and irreversible steps towards establishing a Palestinian state would be an essential component of any durable ceasefire deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a long-standing opponent of Palestinian statehood however, and Israel has previously rejected a permanent ceasefire.
A Hamas source has told AFP the group is keen for a deal that "guarantees a permanent ceasefire, the free return of displaced people, an acceptable deal for (a prisoner-hostage) exchange and an end to the siege" in Gaza.
'Bring our people home'
Netanyahu is under tremendous pressure from the families of hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7 attack to secure their release.
On Monday, the families of two Israeli captives seen alive in a video released by Hamas last weekend called for their release.
"I demand the leaders of the free world to help us bring our people home," said Aviva Siegel, who was freed in the November truce and is the wife of captive Keith Siegel.
Israel estimates 129 hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 believed to be dead.
Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,170 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,488 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
That tally includes at least 34 deaths in a 24-hour window, the ministry said Monday, down from a peak this month of at least 153 deaths on April 9.
At Rafah's Al-Najjar hospital, a crowd of grief-stricken relatives jostled over the dead, shrouded in white.
"We demand the entire world to call for a lasting truce," Abu Taha said at the hospital.
Heatwave
After an Israeli drone strike in early April killed seven workers from a US-based charity, Biden suggested to Netanyahu, for the first time, that continued US support could be conditional on protection and aid for civilians.
On Sunday, the White House said Israel was letting more aid trucks into Gaza in line with "commitments" Biden asked it to meet.
The UN has, however, continued to cite "access constraints" that significantly hinder delivery.
The US military is building a pier to help boost humanitarian supplies -- an effort that the Pentagon on Monday said would cost Washington at least $320 million.
"I have sick children who cannot tolerate the heat," said Alaa al-Saleh, a Palestinian displaced to an encampment in Rafah. "We are cramped inside the tent, rarely going outside."

A missile attack by Yemen's Houthi militias damaged a ship in the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said, the latest assault in their campaign against shipping in the crucial maritime route.

The attack happened off the coast of Mokha, Yemen, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The ship was damaged in the attack, the UKMTO said, though its crew was safe and heading to its next port of call. The agency urged vessels to exercise caution in the area.

There was “an explosion in close proximity to a merchant vessel,” the UKMTO said. “Vessel and crew are reported safe.”

The US military's Central Command identified the ship damaged as the Cyclades, a Malta-flagged, Greece-owned bulk carrier. The military separately shot down a drone on a flight path toward the USS Philippine Sea and USS Laboon, the military said Tuesday.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack on the Cyclades and targeting the US warships in a statement early Tuesday.

Meanwhile Monday, the Italian Defense Ministry said its frigate Virgino Fasan shot down a Houthi drone that morning near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

“A missile exploded in the water in the vicinity of the escorted vessel, causing only minor superficial damage,” the Italian Defense Ministry said, not identifying the commercial vessel being escorted. “The frigate Fasan and the protected merchant vessel are continuing their southward route as planned to exit the Red Sea.”

Saree did not acknowledge that attack, though he claimed the Houthis also targeted a ship in the Indian Ocean. There was no immediate report or evidence to support that claim.

The delegation of the European Union (EU) and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States in Libya expressed in a joint statement on Monday their grave concern after activist Siraj Dughman was reported dead in a Benghazi prison.

"We are gravely concerned about the circumstances of his death and strongly urge a comprehensive, transparent, and independent investigation of the incident." The statement reads.

The statement noted that Dughman’s arrest, similar to those of numerous other civil society representatives and activists, citizens and foreigners, was not followed by any subsequent formal charges or court proceedings.

"The arbitrary arrests or detentions are starkly at odds with Libya’s own legal framework. We call for the immediate release of all individuals arbitrarily detained and reassert the importance of adherence to due process and the rule of law across Libya. We stand with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in calling for the cessation of abductions, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary arrests or detentions throughout the country."

It also indicated that the EU and its Member States remained committed to supporting Libya on its journey toward stability and national reconciliation, emphasizing the necessity of legal and procedural reforms to prevent further injustices and pave the way toward a Libya in which all people can enjoy their rights.

Political activist Dughman was arrested more than six months ago along with former member of the Transitional Council Fathi Al-Baja, and the political activist Tariq Al-Bashari, without referring them to prosecution or charging them with any crimes, before the authorities in Benghazi announced his death in his prison cell in mid-April. The Internal Security Agency in Benghazi said that Dughman had died while trying to escape from the bathroom in his prison. However, activists said the incident seemed like a killing, adding that the circumstances of his death were unnatural.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made remarks at the UN Security Council Stakeout on the Situation in Sudan warning of the crisis in El Fasher in North Darfur.

She highlighted reports that the RSF and its allied militias have razed multiple villages west of El Fasher, saying the RSF is planning an imminent attack on El Fasher at any moment.

"As I’ve said before, history is repeating itself in Darfur in the worst possible way," Greenfield said.

"An attack on El Fasher would be a disaster on top of a disaster. It would put five hundred thousand internally displaced persons at risk, people who traveled from across Darfur to seek refuge. And that’s on top of the two million Sudanese who call El Fasher home," she added.

The US official said a crisis of epic proportions is brewing, highlighting five urgent conditions to avoid further death, destruction, and suffering.

"First, the RSF must end its siege and build-up of military forces in El Fasher, and swear off any attack on the city. All parties to the conflict must take urgent steps to de-escalate. The UN Security Council already called for this, but that’s not enough. Every single Member State must speak out. The entire international community must speak out."

She also said armed actors in Sudan must respect international law and protect civilians, and recall the ICC’s jurisdiction to investigate war crimes.

Further, she stressed that all regional powers must stop providing weapons to both parties in accordance with the UN arms embargo.

The official affirmed that the warring parties must engage in direct negotiations in Jeddah. Because this conflict will not be solved on the battlefield, it will be solved at the negotiating table.

"Fifth and finally, all parties must enable full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, including cross-border and cross-line access."

Right now, 5 million – 5 million people in Sudan are on the brink of famine, and tens of millions of people are in desperate need of aid. And yet, the warring parties continue to obstruct humanitarian access and aid.