BEIRUT: France on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to Lebanon’s stability and pledged increased support for its armed forces and reconstruction efforts, as Israeli attacks in the country’s south continue to escalate.
During an official visit to Beirut, Anne-Claire Legendre, adviser to the French president on Middle East and North Africa affairs, said Paris would continue to support Lebanon and “work to stabilize the southern area.”
Her visit comes as Israel steps up air raids on Hezbollah-linked sites, raising fears of a broader conflict.
During a meeting with senior Lebanese officials, Legendre reaffirmed France’s intention to organize two international conferences to support Lebanon’s aid and reconstruction efforts and strengthen the Lebanese army.
She also pledged to activate the Cessation of Hostilities Oversight Committee (Mechanism), in response to Lebanon’s request to implement the ceasefire framework.
The French envoy’s visit was seen as part of urgent diplomatic efforts to ease mounting Israeli security pressure on Lebanon and revive momentum behind the stalled Nov. 2025 ceasefire agreement to implement UN Resolution 1701, originally drafted to end the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel’s continued breaches of the cessation-of-hostilities pact included strikes on what it claimed to be Hezbollah targets in the south, fueling concerns in Lebanon that Israel may be laying the groundwork for a new war under the pretext of halting the group’s alleged re-armament.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told Legendre that Israel’s ongoing hostilities and its occupation of five strategic positions are preventing the Lebanese army from fully deploying south of the Litani River, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement.
Daily Israel hostilities, he said, are also impeding Lebanon’s post-war reconstruction efforts.
According to his media office, Aoun affirmed that the Lebanese army is continuing its operations in the areas where it has deployed south of the Litani River, seizing weapons and ammunition and inspecting tunnels and warehouses.
He added: “The army is fulfilling its duties with precision, despite the propaganda Israel is spreading to undermine its capabilities and role — a role that continues to have the support of all Lebanese.”
He said about 12 soldiers have been killed so far while on duty.
Aoun reiterated to the French envoy that the option of diplomatically negotiating with Israel, which he proposed weeks ago, offers the most viable path to restoring stability in the south and across Lebanon.
But he confirmed that his country “has not yet received a response to its proposal for negotiations.”
In a statement from his media office Aoun said: “Continued aggression will yield no results. Past experiences in many countries have shown that negotiation is the only sustainable alternative to futile wars.”
He underlined that international support, particularly from France and the US, can help advance negotiations with Israel. The Mechanism Committee is among the bodies capable of sponsoring such talks, he said.
Aoun emphasized to the French envoy that the international conferences France aims to organize, alongside the US and Saudi Arabia, could help the Lebanese army to secure much-needed military equipment for its deployment and facilitate the return of southern residents to their destroyed homes and villages.
He welcomed “any European contribution to maintaining stability following UNIFIL’s withdrawal from the south, in coordination with the Lebanese army units, which will increase to 10,000 soldiers by the end of this year.”
Israel raids on southern Lebanon continued on Thursday.
An Israeli drone struck a car in Toul, near Nabatieh, killing its driver. Several air raids also struck facilities in Aitaroun and Tayr Felsay.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed that “the Israeli army raided a weapons depot and Hezbollah infrastructure located near civilian residences, based on intelligence directives.”
Meanwhile, the 13th meeting of the Mechanism Committee, presided over by US Gen. Joseph Clearfield, was held on Wednesday in Ras Naqoura.
The meeting included a Lebanese presentation that outlined recent Israeli violations, including the renewed use of evacuation warnings issued before targeting several buildings — actions described as a blatant breach of the ceasefire agreement.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassim said that the group intends to retain its weapons north of the Litani River, a position that breaches the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
After Qassim’s statement that “there is no threat or danger to northern settlements,” many have questioned the rationale behind Hezbollah maintaining its weapons north of the Litani River.
In response, the Phalangist Party said reassuring Israel its northern settlements face no threat, while expressing a willingness to clear the south of weapons, raises serious questions about the purpose of retaining those arms.
The party asked: “Where is the so-called ‘resistance against Israel’ if its priority today is to reassure Israel rather than confront it?”
