The French government has drafted a proposal to end the war in Lebanon, Axios reported, quoting three sources familiar with the details.
The proposal would allegedly require the Lebanese government to recognize Israel - a move which it has refused to take since 1948 - and declare that it wishes to negotiate non-aggression with Israel, and would also require Israel to give up the five key points it has occupied in southern Lebanon since the November 2024 ceasefire.
Israel and the US are reviewing the proposal, Axios added, noting that the Lebanese government "has accepted the plan as a basis for peace talks."
If the proposal is accepted, Israel and Lebanon would begin negotiations, backed by both France and the US, and would agree on a "political declaration" within just one month.
France would like to see the negotiations held in Paris, the sources told Axios.
The agreement itself echoes previous agreements: both sides would affirm their commitment to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which Lebanon has failed to maintain; and the Lebanese government would again commit to both preventing attacks on Israel and disarming Hezbollah and banning it from operating south of the Litani River. Unlike the previous agreements, this time Lebanon would both recognize Israel as a country, and commit to respecting Israel's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
As Israel would withdraw from areas south of the Litani River, the Lebanese Army would redeploy to the area to take its place. A US-led mechanism would both imminent threats and violations of the ceasefire. UNIFIL - the group whose complacency allowed Hezbollah's massive weapons and infrastructure buildup and which the UN voted to disband - would be charged with ensuring Hezbollah's disarmament south of the Litani River, and a group of countries from the UN Security Council would ensure the terror group's disarmament in the rest of Lebanon.
The agreement aims to end the state of war between Israel and Lebanon, and demarcate both the border between Lebanon and Syria, and the border between Lebanon and Israel, by the end of 2026.
On Wednesday, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, said that since March 2, Hezbollah has launched more than 880 rockets and missiles, over 60 drones and more than 15 anti-tank missiles at Israel.
During the discussion, the ambassador presented a map of Hezbollah's infrastructure south of the Litani, including launch sites, weapons depots and underground bunkers, and made it clear that this is a direct violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.
Danon stated: "Lebanon now faces only two options: either the Lebanese government takes real action and restrains Hezbollah, or Israel uses its force to dismantle this terrorist organization. There is no other option."
He also said that since the ceasefire came into effect, Israel has submitted 929 enforcement requests to the Lebanese army to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, but some of the sites remained active and were being reused for launching missiles at Israel.
Ambassador Danon added: "We warned Lebanon 929 times. The terrorist infrastructure remained in the area, and the missiles were again fired at Israeli citizens."
On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned during a situational assessment that Israel will not hesitate to begin a widescale ground operation if the threat to northern Israel does not cease immediately.
"I warned the Lebanese President that if the Lebanese government cannot control the area and prevent Hezbollah from threatening northern communities and firing towards Israel, then we will take the territory and do it ourselves," Katz said during the meeting.
"The Prime Minister and I instructed the IDF to prepare to expand the IDF's operations in Lebanon and return quiet and security to the northern towns. We promised quiet and security to the northern towns, and that is exactly what we will provide."
The statement followed Wednesday's heavy missile barrages on northern and central Israel, during which 200 rockets were fired and 120 crossed into Israel.