France's plan seeks Hezbollah pullback, army deployment to Lebanon-Israel border
France is pushing a plan to de-escalate Israel-Hezbollah tensions and avoid a full-fledged war similar to 2006.
![Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air strike in the southern Lebanese village of Shihin near the border on February 11, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP) (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/2024-02/GettyImages-1995136614.jpg?h=0dde757d&itok=LSXgh-lS)
PARIS — The deployment of thousands of Lebanese soldiers to the south of the country near the border with Israel is key element in the French proposal for de-escalation in the region, a French diplomatic source confirmed to Al-Monitor on Thursday, noting that Paris is working closely with the Biden administration to avoid the outbreak of an all-out war between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.
Tensions have increased considerably on the Israel-Lebanon border since Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7. An Israeli strike killed a Hezbollah commander, two fighters and seven civilians in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh, a security source told AFP on Thursday.
France has been leading efforts to de-escalate tensions and proposed a three-phased plan on Monday.
"We believe that we should not wait for a new cease-fire in Gaza to be agreed upon to start working on de-escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah," said the diplomatic source, adding, "The idea is to work on that now. This way, when a cease-fire in Gaza is reached, there would already be discussed proposals for the Israel-Lebanon border on the table. The proposal currently put on the table sees a critical role for the Lebanese army. For this to work, the army would need to receive adequate budgets and to be able to function effectively."