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Israel’s defence minister appeared to reject a French proposal on Friday to ease tensions between Israel and the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah after days of escalating cross-border attacks raised fears of war on another front.
The United States, France and other mediators have been trying for months to find a diplomatic solution between Israel and Hezbollah that would ease the retaliatory attacks that have continued since the war in Gaza began in October. French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France and the United States had agreed in principle to create a framework with Israel to “move forward” French proposals to end the violence.
But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a defense hardliner who has called for Israel to take a tougher stance against Hezbollah, appeared to summarily reject the French idea on Friday.
“France pursues a hostile policy towards Israel while we fight a just battle to defend our people,” Gallant said on social media. “Israel will not be a party to the tripartite framework proposed by France.”
Macron’s comments come at a time of rising tensions between the Israeli and French governments. Criticized Israeli military attack on Gaza. The French president said he was outraged by Israeli attacks last month that Palestinian health officials said killed dozens of displaced Gazans.
His comments came after Hezbollah fired a series of rockets into northern Israel on Friday that set off sirens but caused few reports of damage.
A Lebanese security official said the launch was in retaliation for an overnight Israeli attack on a three-story building in southern Lebanon that killed two people. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said there was no indication that a Hezbollah commander was killed in the attack. The Israeli military declined to comment on the attack.
As part of a possible diplomatic solution, Israel has demanded that Hezbollah withdraw its forces beyond the Litani River in Lebanon, under a UN Security Council resolution that ended the war between the two countries in 2006. The resolution stipulated that only UN and Lebanese forces were allowed in the area, but each side has accused the other of violating it.
Analysts say Hezbollah is unlikely to agree to such a deal, and French mediators have instead proposed a framework that includes a smaller buffer zone about six miles from the Lebanese-Israeli border and an increased presence of Lebanese army troops in the border area.
In the absence of such an agreement, both sides have opted for limited escalation. Hezbollah militants have fired drones and rockets into northern Israel almost daily since October, while Israeli aircraft have targeted Lebanese militants, including deep inside the country. More than 150,000 people have been forced to flee their homes on both sides of the border.
Analysts and officials say neither Israel nor Hezbollah appears interested in all-out war, but a miscalculation could draw both sides into it.
Israel has frequently carried out targeted assassinations of Hezbollah fighters over the past eight months. Late Tuesday, Israeli forces killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike in southern Lebanon that followed rocket attacks in the direction of Israel.
Four people, including two soldiers, were wounded in a Hezbollah attack in Israel on Thursday. Falling rockets, Israeli interceptors and shrapnel have also sparked wildfires that have burned more than 11,000 acres in the past two weeks, according to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
