Lebanese Foreign Minister Bouhabib (left) with his French counterpart Sigournet in Lebanon (Anatolia)

French Foreign Minister Stephane Ségornet warned Lebanese officials on Tuesday that Israel might launch a war against Lebanon in order to return tens of thousands of its citizens to the border region, according to what Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib announced.

Bouhabib said during a press conference after his meeting with his French counterpart as part of a tour in the region that included Israel, “(Sigournet) warned us that the Israelis might launch a war, which they consider to be to return (the residents of the northern region)” to their homes.

He added, "We told the French that we do not want a war" with Israel, but rather, "We want an agreement through the United Nations, the French, and the Americans. We want an agreement with them on (demarcating) the borders."

Since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, the Lebanese-Israeli border has witnessed a daily exchange of bombing between Hezbollah and Israel, which has raised international fears of an expansion of the scope of escalation and prompted Western officials to visit Beirut and urge calm.

Hezbollah announces targeting Israeli military sites and points in support of Gaza and “in support of its resistance,” while the Israeli army responds with air and artillery bombardment, which it says targets the party’s “infrastructure” and fighter movements near the border.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz vowed - yesterday, Monday - during his meeting with Sigourney that “time is running out” to reach a diplomatic solution in southern Lebanon, and that “Israel will move militarily to return the citizens who were evacuated from their homes” to its northern region.

Several local and international bodies, most notably Washington, called for the necessity of implementing Security Council Resolution 1701, which strengthened the spread of the UNIFIL force in southern Lebanon following the end of the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. The decision prohibited any armed deployment in the border area outside the army and UNIFIL forces.

Recruiting thousands into the army

Bouhabib reiterated the position of the Lebanese authorities in adhering to the full implementation of Resolution 1701. He said in response to a question about the demands of the Lebanese side, “We say, ‘Help us to recruit about 7,000’ people into the ranks of the army.”

He explained, "We want an additional number in order to place them in the south, and the French are very interested in the matter," denying that this had anything to do with Israel's demand for Hezbollah's withdrawal from the border region.

Bouhabib, who received his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, on Wednesday, said, “Everyone is interested in not having a war in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.”

Since the start of the escalation, 226 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 166 Hezbollah fighters and 26 civilians, including 3 journalists, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse. In Israel, the army counted the deaths of 9 soldiers and 6 civilians.

For his part, Sigourney stressed on Tuesday the priority of calming the situation in southern Lebanon and stopping military operations along the border.

During his meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Government Palace in central Beirut, Sigourney indicated that his visit to Lebanon falls within the framework of a tour of a number of countries (which he did not specify), in the context of international efforts to stop the war in Gaza, preserve stability in Lebanon, and remove dangers from it.

Source: Agencies