French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, the French presidency said in a statement, as Paris seeks to prevent a broader escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, Reuters reported.
The conversation followed Hezbollah’s rocket attack on Majdal Shams on Saturday, in which 12 children and teens were killed.
The presidency said Macron had reminded Netanyahu that France was fully committed to doing “everything to avoid a new escalation in the region by passing messages to all parties involved in the conflict.”
Also on Sunday, the Security Cabinet authorized Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to decide on the manner and timing of the response against the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the wake of the massacre in Majdal Shams.
Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams, but IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari rejected that denial in remarks on Saturday night.
"In the past hour, Hezbollah has been lying and denying its responsibility for the incident. Our intelligence is clear - Hezbollah is responsible for killing innocent children. Ten-year-old children. And once again, the brutality of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization was exposed. This is a very serious incident and we will act accordingly. The IDF will do everything to protect the citizens of the State of Israel," said Hagari.
Macron earlier this month spoke to Netanyahu and urged him to prevent a "conflagration" between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Macron "reiterated his serious concern over a deepening of tensions between Hezbollah and Israel... and underscored the absolute need to prevent a conflagration that would harm the interests of Lebanon as well as Israel," the French presidency said in a statement following that conversation.
He also insisted on the "urgency for all parties to move rapidly toward a diplomatic solution" to end the conflict in Gaza.
While Macron visited Israel near the start of the war with Hamas and expressed support for its right to defend itself from Hamas, he has also been critical of Israel at times.
In an interview with the BBC in November, the French President said that Israel "should stop killing women and babies in Gaza".
Netanyahu responded to the French President's comments in a press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz, saying that Macron "made a grave error" and adding, "We don't need these moral lectures."
A French political official later rejected Netanyahu's criticism, clarifying that Macron "has not changed his position" on Israeli action against Hamas but believes that Israel can and should do more to prevent harm to Palestinian Arab civilians in Gaza.
Subsequently, Macron appeared to cast doubt on Israel’s ability to eradicate Hamas, calling on Israel to clarify its goals in the war and claiming that totally destroying the organization could take 10 years.