French Foreign Minister in Beirut in push to avert regional war

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French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne arrived in Lebanon on Thursday afternoon in the latest diplomatic bid to calm tensions and avert a potential regional war.
He met Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. Mr Sejourne’s trip to Beirut comes a day after US envoy Amos Hochstein flew to Lebanon, saying it was vital to take advantage of “this window for diplomatic action” to end Israel’s war on Gaza and continuing hostilities along the Lebanon-Israel border. Mr Hochstein said he feared that escalations could spiral “out of control”.
France has a long-standing relationship with Lebanon and is a crucial interlocutor in the country. His first meeting was with influential parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah who also has good relations with western countries. The French minister is expected to stay in Beirut only for the afternoon before heading elsewhere in the region.
“We are all worried about the regional situation,” he said.
Mr Sejourne said his visit was aimed at seeking “de-escalation” in Lebanon and the wider region, as Hezbollah continues to clash with Israel in border region.
Mr Sejourne reiterated France’s stance on the need for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it “will be necessary to guarantee peace in the region”.
He said he carried a “very simple” message of de-escalation addressed to Lebanese authorities “and which will also be addressed to other countries in the region”.
Speaking after meeting Mr Berri, Mr Sejourne called for the Lebanese army in the south to be strengthened. While Lebanon and Israel are technically in a state of war, the Lebanese Armed Forces has not been involved in the latest round of clashes with Israel that began in October.
Lebanese armed group and political party Hezbollah has been engaged in daily exchanges of fire with Israel on the border since October 8. The group says it will not end its attacks until Israel stops its offensive on the Gaza Strip, where about 40,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Ceasefire talks are expected to resume in Qatar on Thursday with Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators. Hamas said it will not be taking part in the talks, while Israel has announced it is dispatching a delegation.
While the fighting on the Lebanon-Israel border has been continuing since October, tensions have surged in the last two weeks.
Hezbollah has threatened a harsh retaliation against Israel after the assassination of senior commander Fouad Shukr, along with a number of civilians, in Beirut in late July. Israel said it held the commander responsible for the deaths of 12 Druze children in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights days earlier. Hezbollah denied involvement in the attack.
Tensions have also surged since Israel was blamed for the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran only hours after the killing of Mr Shukr.
The sharp rise in tensions was highlighted by Israel’s bombing of the south Lebanese town of Marjayoun on Wednesday night. At least two people were killed and four injured.
Marjayoun is only a few kilometres from the Israeli border and is close to areas that have been repeatedly attacked by Israel since fighting broke out last year. But it is the first time the town, which is adorned with the posters of parties opposed to Hezbollah, has been directly targeted since hostilities broke out between Hezbollah and Israel in October.
A resident of Marjayoun told The National that the strike hit its central square. They said a two-year-old child was hurt and his pregnant mother sustained a stomach injury.
As efforts to avert all-out war continue, Mr Hochstein alluded to the threat of miscalculation.
“The more time goes by of escalated tensions, the more time goes by of daily conflict, the more the odds and the chances go up for accidents, for mistakes, for inadvertent targets to be hit that could easily cause escalation that goes out of control,” he said.
Mr Hochstein said he and Mr Berri agreed there were “no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay” on a ceasefire based on a framework US President Joe Biden presented months ago.
“The deal would also help enable a diplomatic resolution here in Lebanon,” he added.