Reports: Israel says ready for 'political step' with Lebanon

A French delegation comprising diplomats and senior French army officials arrived in Israel this week and Paris is trying to reach a diplomatic solution regarding Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, Israeli media reports said.

Israel’s Channel 13 said that the delegation will meet with officials from Israel’s foreign and defense ministries and that Israeli officials have told France and the U.S. that they are willing to “carry out a political step that would negate the need for launching a military campaign in the north soon.”

The Israelis have however warned that “the chances are running out and we don’t have all the time in the world.”

Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, the frontier between Lebanon and Israel has seen intensifying exchanges of fire, mainly between Israel and Hezbollah, but also Palestinian groups.

More than 110 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, mostly Hezbollah fighters and more than a dozen civilians, according to an AFP tally, since fighting began in October.

On the Israeli side, six soldiers and three civilians have been killed, Israeli authorities have said.

Hezbollah has not had a visible military presence on Lebanon's southern border since the end of a 2006 conflict with Israel, but says it resumed activities in support of Hamas following the Palestinian group’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7.

U.N. peacekeepers are present on the border as part of the U.N. Security Council Resolution which ended the 2006 war.