French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was in Beirut on Monday to meet senior Lebanese officials in an effort to prevent an Israeli invasion of Lebanon and deliver humanitarian aid as the European Union held emergency talks to discuss bolstering support for Lebanese institutions.
"There is still hope, but there is little time left" for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, Mr Barrot said in a press conference in the Lebanese capital.
Deadly Israeli attacks on Lebanon continued after the EU, the US, France, the UK and Gulf countries over the weekend called for a 21-day ceasefire on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.