French foreign minister in Lebanon for talks aimed at easing tensions with Israel

France's foreign minister is discussing proposals with Lebanese officials on Sunday aimed at easing tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded strikes across the border since 7 October, which have increased since Iran launched missiles on Israel in response to the Israeli killing of seven of its military officers and commanders in Damascus.

"If I look at the situation today if there were not a war in Gaza, we could be talking about a war in southern Lebanon given the number of strikes and the impact on the area,"  Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said. "I will pass messages and make proposals to the authorities here to stabilise this zone and avoid a war."

The UN peacemaking mission known as Unifil is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor activity along the demarcation line with Israel. France has 700 troops serving in Unifil's 10,000-strong mission.

Hezbollah has said it would not enter concrete discussions until there was a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel wants to restore calm in its northern areas so displaced Israelis can return to the area.

Earlier this year, Sejourne proposed that Hezbollah would pull back 10km from the Israeli border, while Israel would halt its attacks on southern Lebanon.

Lebanese media reported the government had provided feedback to Paris on the proposal, but French officials said the responses lacked consensus amongst Lebanese actors.