France FM To Hold Talks With Lebanon On Reducing Tensions With Israel

BEIRUT: Later on Monday, France’s top ambassador was scheduled to visit Beirut for discussions aimed at defusing the almost daily gunfire exchanges along the Israel border that have raised concerns about a full-scale confrontation.

In her discussions with Nabih Berri, the speaker of the parliament and a major ally of the potent militant organization Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, and Najib Mikati, the prime minister of Lebanon, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna was anticipated to urge responsibility and moderation.

There have been increasing gunfire exchanges along the Israeli-Lebanese frontier since October 8, the day the Israel-Hamas conflict began. These exchanges are primarily between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which claims to be supporting Hamas.

With other Iran-backed groups fighting US-led coalition forces in Iraq and Syria and Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeting ships in the Red Sea, fears of a broader battle have been mounting.
Colonna urged all sides to “de-escalate” near the Israel-Lebanon border on Sunday when she was in Israel.
“I don’t think anyone would benefit if things were to spiral out of control,” she remarked.

Beneath the weight of a crippling four-year economic crisis and political stagnation, Lebanon cannot afford another catastrophic war between Israel and Hezbollah, which last broke out in 2006.