US hails Lebanon’s proposal for talks with Israel as Hezbollah keeps up rocket fire

French FM expresses concerns over possible IDF invasion of Lebanon as Sa’ar tells him Israel ‘will act decisively against’ enemies; one said killed in Israeli strike

The US ambassador to Lebanon on Friday hailed the Lebanese president’s proposal to launch direct negotiations with Israel to put an end to the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah, as the Iran-backed terror group continued its attacks on the north.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2, to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We appreciate the importance of the issue for the president and the importance of his responsibility in finally deciding that he must meet with the Israelis, because matters are not resolved without talking,” Michel Issa told journalists following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai in Beirut.

“Each party has their point of view of how meetings start,” he said, however, adding that he believed Israel “has decided not to stop” striking Lebanon yet.

“That means Lebanon has to decide whether it can meet the Israelis in this case,” he said.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, on March 9, proposed direct talks with Israel, but Israel has since said there are no talks planned. The IDF announced on Monday that it had launched “limited” ground operations in Lebanon after the incessant rocket fire.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke with Lebanese leaders last week, expressed hope on Thursday that Israel would agree to direct talks with Beirut, and offered to host talks in Paris.

Visiting French FM voices concern over IDF ground op in Lebanon

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Friday that he outlined ⁠France’s reservations about an Israeli ground operation in ​southern Lebanon, speaking to reporters after meeting with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in Jerusalem.

Barrot added that the ​Lebanese ⁠army must do everything possible to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah as demanded ⁠by ​the Lebanese government.

Barrot spoke during a brief visit to Israel after traveling to Lebanon on Thursday amid efforts to reduce regional tensions and secure a ceasefire there.

The top French diplomat said ​he does not see an obvious ‌end to Middle East tensions during the ongoing US-Israeli aerial assault against Iran, but that ​France and its allies would ​continue to work towards trying to ⁠find a lasting solution.

“There is ​no obvious short-term way out of ​the ongoing regional escalation, which has in some ways been unfolding since October 7, ​2023,” he said. “But this must in no ​way serve as a pretext for inaction.”

In a post on X, Sa’ar said the two discussed the war against Iran and intensified fighting with Hezbollah during their meeting.

Sa’ar said he reiterated to Barrot that “the Lebanese government and its army are not taking any meaningful action against Hezbollah, neither militarily nor in other aspects,” and that he “presented Israel’s precise operations against Hezbollah operatives, while making efforts to minimize harm to the civilian population as much as possible.”

“Israel will continue to defend itself and its citizens and will act decisively against all those who seek its elimination,” Sa’ar told his French counterpart, calling on France and the European Union to designate “the entirety” of the Iran-backed group as a terrorist organization, “not only its military wing,” as some European countries have done.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah carried out sporadic rocket barrages and drone attacks on northern Israel on Friday, with no reports of injuries or major damage.

Sirens had sounded across the Galilee, with some of the rocket barrages targeting the Safed area.

Many of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, while others struck open areas, according to the IDF, with several dozen rockets in total fired throughout the day. The IDF also reported shooting down several Hezbollah drones that were launched toward the north.

The IDF has said that Hezbollah is launching most of its attacks from deeper within southern Lebanon, and not from close to the border.

The Israeli military also said Friday it has killed over 570 Hezbollah operatives, including 220 members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, since hostilities escalated amid the war with Iran.

More than 2,000 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon have also been struck in the past three weeks, the IDF says, including 120 command centers, 100 weapon depots, and 130 missile launchers.

Lebanese state media also said that an Israeli airstrike hit a house in a southern town early on Saturday, killing one person and wounding two others.

“Israeli fighter jets launched a heavy strike at dawn on a house in the town of Ghandouriyeh… resulting in one martyr and two wounded people who were pulled from under the rubble,” the official National News Agency said.

Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli attacks have killed over 1,000 people since the war began and displaced more than one million people. The death toll does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.