Macron Urges Hezbollah Ceasefire and Warns Israel Against Lebanon Offensive as Iran War Risks New Front

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for an immediate halt to escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and warned against the war spreading into Lebanon, saying both sides must step back from military escalation as the wider Iran conflict destabilises the region.

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Macron said he held discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump and Lebanese leaders before presenting a plan aimed at stopping the cross-border fighting that has intensified along Israel’s northern frontier. He said the objective was to prevent Lebanon from being dragged into a wider regional war linked to the ongoing U.S.–Israeli campaign against Iran.

“For Lebanon, we must act,” Macron wrote in a statement. “Everything must be done to prevent this country close to France from being dragged into war once again.”

Macron said Hezbollah must immediately stop firing rockets and missiles into Israel, while Israel must avoid launching a ground offensive or broader military campaign inside Lebanese territory.

“Hezbollah must immediately cease its fire toward Israel. Israel must renounce any ground intervention or large-scale action on Lebanese territory,” he said.

The French president said Lebanese authorities had committed to reasserting control over positions currently held by Hezbollah and to restoring state authority across the country’s territory. Paris, he added, would support these efforts by strengthening cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces and supplying armoured transport vehicles along with operational and logistical support.

Macron also confirmed that French troops serving within the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon would continue their deployment in the south of the country, where tensions have sharply escalated following Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah rocket fire.

The conflict along the Israel–Lebanon border has intensified since the broader Iran war erupted earlier this week. Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel, prompting Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon and the outskirts of Beirut. 

Lebanese authorities say more than a hundred people have already been killed in the fighting, with hundreds more wounded and tens of thousands of civilians fleeing southern areas.

Macron also announced that France would send emergency humanitarian aid to support displaced Lebanese civilians. The assistance includes several tons of medicines and emergency shelter supplies aimed at addressing the growing humanitarian crisis.

In a direct message to regional actors, Macron urged Israel not to widen its military campaign and warned Iran against pulling Lebanon deeper into the confrontation.

“In this moment of great danger, I call on the Israeli Prime Minister not to extend the war to Lebanon,” he said. “I call on the Iranian leaders not to involve Lebanon further in a war that is not its own.”

Macron also urged Hezbollah to lay down its weapons and prioritise Lebanon’s national interests rather than acting as what he described as a militia serving external powers.

The French intervention shows growing concern among European governments that the war between the United States, Israel and Iran could rapidly evolve into a multi-front regional conflict stretching from the Persian Gulf to the eastern Mediterranean if the Israel–Hezbollah confrontation escalates further.