French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on Thursday reiterated that sending an international force to the Middle East now was premature, as Israel and Hezbollah had yet to reach a political agreement.

In a news conference, Douste-Blazy briefed on the situation in Lebanon, which he said was "more and more worrying" and "disastrous". The death toll has exceeded 800, one-third of whom are children, and the number of displaced people has exceeded 1 million.

"The three-stage French proposal -- an immediate cessation of hostilities, a lasting ceasefire via a political agreement and finally the deployment of an international force -- is beginning to prevail progressively in the international community," he said.

"The proposal is making headway at the United Nations, at the Security Council. And we will have a rendezvous there in the coming days," he said.

He said France would not take part in an international force unless there was a political agreement between the concerned parties, adding that France was pleading for political ways to solve the problem.

In addition, he announced that a French ship, containing humanitarian aid, including medicine, blankets, hygiene materials and water purification equipment, would leave the southern French port of Marseille on Aug. 11 for Lebanon.

Source: Xinhua