French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent a "conflagration" between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, during a telephone call between the two leaders.
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 quoted by the AFP news agency.
He also insisted on the "urgency for all parties to move rapidly toward a diplomatic solution" to end the conflict in Gaza.
"The two leaders discussed the diplomatic efforts underway towards this," the Elysee Palace said, ahead of a visit by the US envoy for the conflict, Amos Hochstein, to Paris on Wednesday.
Macron also called on Netanyahu to refrain from any "new operation" in Gaza near Rafah or Khan Yunis, "which would only aggravate the human toll and a humanitarian situation that is already catastrophic", the Elysee said, according to AFP.
Macron and Netanyahu also discussed recent "developments" in Iran's nuclear program, in particular reports of "the installation of new centrifuges" for enriching uranium.
"France, with its partners, remains fully committed to continuing to exert pressure on the Iranian government, which must respect its international obligations and fully cooperate with the IAEA," Macron's office said.
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.
More recently, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant criticized France over its plan to advance a "roadmap" to solve tensions with Hezbollah.
"As we fight a just war, defending our people, France has adopted hostile policies against Israel," Gallant said. "In doing so, France ignores the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli children, women and men."
"Israel will not be a party to the trilateral framework proposed by France," he promised.
