France envoy says it's unrealistic for Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah under Israeli occupation

France’s special envoy for Lebanon says it is unrealistic to expect Beirut to disarm Hezbollah while Israeli attacks continue.

Speaking to France Info radio on Wednesday, Jean-Yves Le Drian said only negotiations could resolve the escalating crisis.

"Israel occupied Lebanon for a very long time and failed to eradicate Hezbollah's military capacity. Therefore, they cannot now ask the Lebanese government to do that job in three days under bombardment," Le Drian said.

He stressed that pressure on Lebanon’s government during ongoing air raids would not produce results and warned that diplomacy, not military escalation, remains the only viable path forward.