President Macron Asks US To Press Israel To Accept Ceasefire Plans In Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron. (Wikimedia Commons/IAEA Imagebank)

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on the United States to pressure Israel to accept a 21-day ceasefire plan in Lebanon, saying the Israeli invasion would be a grave mistake.

President Macron told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation there was still time for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to commit to the plan.

"And I believe that the US should now increase pressure on the Israeli prime minister to do so," he said.

If PM Netanyahu said no, President Macron said France would raise the issue on the United Nations Security Council.

"We are waiting for all partners to be more vocal and committed to us to send this clear message: Israel cannot attack Lebanon today. War is unlikely to occur in Lebanon at this time; it would be a huge mistake, a big risk of escalation," he said.

President Macron previously said at a press conference in Montreal, according to him, Israeli officials' comments about the idea of a ceasefire were not definitive.

In a speech at the United Nations Annual Assembly on Wednesday, President Macron said he would send his foreign minister to Lebanon this week, as part of efforts to prevent a massive war, calling on Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah to immediately stop hostilities.

"There should be no war in Lebanon," he said.

"We firmly call on Israel to stop escalation in Lebanon and Hezbollah to stop shooting at Israel," President Macron stressed.

Earlier, Israel's Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, had rejected France-US proposals for a 21-day ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu's Prime Minister's Office said he had not yet responded to a ceasefire proposal and had ordered the military to continue fighting in full force.