Macron to Netanyahu: Avoid a cycle of reprisals in the Middle East

French President Emmanuel Macron told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to "avoid a cycle of reprisals" in the Middle East, his office said.

After earlier telling his Iranian counterpart to "avoid a cycle of reprisals that would put the populations and stability of the region at risk", Macron urged Netanyahu in a telephone call to adopt the same reasoning, the French presidency said in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency.

The French presidency said it was imperative to prevent all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been trading near-daily cross-border fire since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

"Faced with rising tensions on the border between Israel and Lebanon, every effort must be made... to avoid a regional conflagration," said the French presidency, stressing that "a war between Israel and Lebanon would have destructive consequences for the entire region".

Macron also reminded Netanyahu that "the absolute priority" for France remained "the immediate achievement of a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages... and the massive and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the people there," the statement said.

The conversation between Macron and Netanyahu came amid preparations for an Iranian retaliation for the eliminations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week.

Israel took responsibility for Shukr's death, but has not commented on Haniyeh's, though Hamas and Iran were quick to blame Israel.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday made comments similar to Macron’s, when he said that both Iran and Israel should avoid escalating conflict in the Middle East.

"No one should escalate this conflict. We've been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We communicated that message directly to Israel," Blinken told reporters.

"Our commitment to Israel's security is ironclad. We will continue to defend Israel against attacks from terrorist groups or their sponsors, just as we'll continue to defend our troops," Blinken stressed.

"But everyone in the region should understand that further attacks only perpetuate conflict, instability, insecurity for everyone," he added.

White House officials on Tuesday said they believe that Iran may be reconsidering its planned attack on Israel, according to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.

Ignatius wrote that Iran may be "reconsidering a plan for major retaliation" for the elimination of Haniyeh, but the officials stressed that Hezbollah "is still a wild card."