France offers to broker Lebanon-Israel talks: What do we know?

EXPLAINERDiplomatic efforts come amid threat of an Israeli ground invasion in southern Lebanon and sustained air raids.Smoke from a building in Beirut, Lebanon, hit by Israeli forces after a forced evacuation order on March 12, 2026 [Adri Salido/Getty Images]Published On 15 Mar 2026French President Emmanuel Macron has said Paris is ready to mediate a truce between Lebanon and Israel, saying that Lebanese leaders are willing to engage in direct talks in a major shift in the country’s approach towards Israel.Macron’s statement on Saturday came as Israel continued its attacks, killing more than 800 people in Lebanon and displacing some 800,000. Israel has issued forced evacuation orders for all residents south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon. Reports also suggest that Israeli forces are preparing for a major ground invasion there.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran war: What is happening on day 15 of US-Israel attacks?list 2 of 3Israel kills 12 medics in attack in southern Lebanon as war ravages nationlist 3 of 3US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq attacked with missile that hits helipadend of listIsrael launched strikes on Lebanon after the Hezbollah group fired rockets in response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 1, a day after the United States and Israel started the war. Hezbollah had not responded to near-daily attacks carried out by Israel since the November 2024 ceasefire.Let’s unpack what France has said and what it means.What’s Macron’s proposal?Macron said he spoke with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri.“The Lebanese government has indicated its willingness to engage in direct talks with Israel,” he said on X in a message posted in Hebrew, Arabic and French. All segments of the country must be represented, he said, urging Israel to seize the opportunity and start discussion for a ceasefire, “abandon its large-scale offensive and cease its massive airstrikes”. He also called on Hezbollah to halt “its escalating conflict”.“France is ready to facilitate these discussions by hosting them in Paris,” Macron said. “Everything must be done to prevent Lebanon [from] descending into chaos.”On Saturday evening, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs denied any such plan, saying France is merely open to facilitating and supporting Lebanon in holding direct talks with Israel.However, a source familiar with the French efforts told Al Jazeera that the plan does exist, but that France is hoping to bring the US on board and fold it into a broader diplomatic push to end the devastating conflict.Axios cited three sources saying the French officials drafted a proposal that would require the Lebanese government to recognise Israel in exchange for an end to the war.Israel and Lebanon have been technically at war since 1948, when thousands of Palestinians took refuge in Lebanon. They have since signed armistice and ceasefire agreements, but a final binding peace treaty has eluded them amid Israel’s expansionism.Hezbollah was created in response to Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. It has since evolved into one of the most powerful political players in the country, drawing its support mostly among the Shia population.According to the Axios report, the Lebanese government has accepted the plan as a basis for peace talks. The proposal calls for the deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River, while Israel would pull out from territories it has captured since the start of the current war.Talks could already start in the “coming days” either in Cyprus or Paris, two sources told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.Al Jazeera, however, could not independently confirm the veracity of the media reports.What has been Israel and Hezbollah’s position on talks?Lebanese officials’ offer for direct negotiations with Israel is a major concession in a country where ties with Israel, a longtime enemy, are a divisive issue.It comes as the government has hardened its position against Hezbollah, accusing the group of jeopardising the country’s security. On March 2, the Lebanese prime minister banned Hezbollah’s military activities and restricted its role to the public sphere.Berri, the parliament speaker who represents the Shia community and is an ally of Hezbollah, has also welcomed the idea of direct talks but said he would negotiate only after Israel stops its attacks on Lebanese territory and displaced people can return to their homes – a position in line with that of the Lebanese group. Israel, on the other hand, has repeatedly said it would not hold its fire until Hezbollah disarms.A Hezbollah source told Al Jazeera that the group has so far not received an offer for negotiations.Regardless of the diplomatic initiatives, the reality on the battlefield suggests that neither Hezbollah nor Israel is ready to sit at the negotiating table, said Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr. While Israel has imposed air superiority and continues to bomb targets across the country, Hezbollah says it is repelling Israel’s advance in the country’s south.“What is clear is that the battlefield is still taking shape and neither of the two sides is in a position to impose its conditions for the time being,” Khodr said, reporting from Beirut.What about past ceasefire deal?Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a US-backed ceasefire in November 2024 following more than a year of cross-border fighting, including two months of an all-out war in which Israel killed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The two sides committed to stop fighting and pull their forces back from south of the Litani to pave the way for the Lebanese army to redeploy in the area.In practice, however, the deal reduced the intensity of the conflict but never fully stopped it. Israel maintained a presence in at least five positions and continued to carry out military attacks on an almost daily basis.Hezbollah has refused to lay down arms, which was one of the terms of the 2024 deal. It says it would do so only once Israel fully withdrew from Lebanese territory and stopped its air attacks.What is the latest on the ground?The diplomatic efforts come as Israel continues to pound Lebanon, with campaigners pointing out the destruction of residential areas, including health centres. Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets at Israel.Israel maintains a sustained bombing campaign targeting the capital, Beirut, as well as other locations across the country. The air raids have forced more than 830,000 people out of their homes – about 14 percent of the country’s population.Many are struggling to find shelter as aid agencies warn of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel has also called for the forced evacuation of Beirut’s southern suburbs and parts of the eastern Bekaa Valley.The massive uprooting comes as senior Israeli leaders, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said last week that Beirut and its southern suburbs would become like Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip that has been razed to the ground.