Amid the equation of "sticking" to confront the support and distraction of the Israeli army across the southern Lebanese border with Israel, which was followed by "Hezbollah" since the eighth of last October in support of "Hamas" in Gaza, the end of the truce yesterday was not limited to Gaza, but also affected southern Lebanon.

The Blue Line along the border regained sharp confrontations, especially since yesterday afternoon, signaling a clear renewed link to the situation on the southern border with the situation in Gaza, which raised again widespread questions associated with increasing concern about the dangers of the post-truce phase.

Knowing that this truce went on the southern front without any public adoption of it, neither from Israel nor from "Hezbollah", and yet its end in Gaza, where Israel resumed its destructive attacks yesterday, quickly ignited confrontations in the south, raising many serious warnings about this forced link and opening the southern arena and through it all of Lebanon again to various dangerous possibilities.

Amid the return of confrontations in the south, which France has been warning about the danger of forming an indicator of Lebanon's slide into war, the French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian ended his visit to Beirut and returned to Paris, while the French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna rushed to repeat her warnings that "any miscalculation may drag Lebanon into an escalation that goes beyond its south" and said in a statement yesterday: "The situation between Lebanon and Israel is more dangerous than it was in 2006".

Le Drian and his messages

Le Drian left the three messages that he deposited with the officials and political forces related to the presidential file and the situation in the south and the term extension of army commander General Joseph Aoun to interact after his visit, signaling his return again to Beirut as it turned out.

While some are promoting the idea that the Gaza crisis could push the election of a president of the republic to an unspecified period, Le Drian informed those concerned that "the matter is the opposite and that the crisis necessitates an urgent need to elect a president as time is playing against Lebanon".

It was clear that this position does not only reflect France's opinion, but that Le Drian, through his passage in Qatar and then in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, expressed in Beirut the position of the Quintet group "on the basis that everyone is on one page or one position from these three messages and this point is among the implied messages, i.e. the consensus of the Quintet countries and the absence of any gap or differences between them".

Among the implied messages through the main headlines in the topic of self-restraint in the south, Le Drian was decisive in "that France is committed to implementing UNSC Resolution 1701, especially since it contributed to its achievement and is a partner in its application and will be an advocate for its implementation as it may be a current opportunity for that".

As for the necessity of extending the term of army commander, which was the reason for a very brief meeting with Leader of Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil, starting from Le Drian's consideration that Bassil is the one who leads the rejection of the extension for the continuation of the army commander in his position, which caused a strong dispute between them; Le Drian did not feel after the dispute that there is any benefit from continuing the meeting with Bassil.

Le Drian's position on the term extension of General Joseph Aoun is based on a conviction in two parts: "The first is that there is an army commander whose term ends on January 10 and there is no president of the republic to appoint a new commander, in addition to the fact that there are precedents for extending the army commander. This is not a defense of the person, but a defense of the position. The second part is based on the principle that as much as the continuation of the presence of an original commander in the leadership of the army is important for the security of the Lebanese, as it is not possible to imagine a country without an army commander and in a crisis-ridden country like Lebanon, it is a security issue in light of the presence of French soldiers among the international force working in the south and the coordination or cooperation between them and the army. Consequently, a sudden change without a clear successor in the leadership raises serious questions in Paris".

In an interview with LBCI, Le Drian confirmed that "French President Emmanuel Macron sent me on a mission as a mediator, not as a substitute. A mediator means making the Lebanese try together to get out of this impasse because internal relations are largely frozen."

He stressed: "Nothing prevents the possibility of a dramatic escalation of the security situation in Lebanon. We urge Lebanon and Israel to exercise restraint because any escalation will have tragic consequences for everyone, and France is not biased toward Israel."

He emphasized: "The current crisis requires urgent action on the issue of presidential elections because there will be negotiations at times, and it is preferable to have a Lebanese authority that negotiates on behalf of all parties. Otherwise, Lebanon will not determine its fate but will be subject to it."

It was striking in the subject of raising the fate of UNSC Resolution 1701 that the official spokesperson for "UNIFIL" Andrea Tenenti commented "on the increasing talk about the need to amend the International Security Council Resolution 1701 and establish a buffer zone" by saying: "The International Security Council is the one who issued the decision, and therefore no discussions can be started about its future except through the Security Council and its member states".

Tenenti confirmed that "the pillars of UNSC Resolution 1701 are still in effect", stressing that "the priority remains to prevent escalation, protect the lives of civilians, and ensure the security of peacekeepers".

In response to a question about whether we will witness a tripartite meeting soon in Naqoura, he said: "So far there are no indications of upcoming meetings. However, the UNIFIL mission, led by General Aroldo Lázaro, is actively participating in efforts to reduce tensions, to avoid the risk of a wider conflict. All these efforts have been made through bilateral communication with the two sides without holding a tripartite meeting".

This article was initially published in Arabic in Annahar, translated by Christina Rai.