Macron calls on Israel to avoid escalation, 'particularly in Lebanon'

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to avoid escalation, "particularly in Lebanon", following a strike in Beirut attributed to Israel that killed Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, the Elysee Palace said.

Macron, who spoke by telephone with Israeli minister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz, said "it was essential to avoid any escalatory attitude, particularly in Lebanon, and that France would continue to pass on these messages to all players directly or indirectly involved in the area", the presidency said.

The Israeli army has said it is "prepared for any scenario", stoking fears the war in the Gaza Strip could boil over into wider regional conflict.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari did not directly comment on the killing, but said afterwards that the military was in "very high state of readiness in all arenas, in defense and offence. We are highly prepared for any scenario."

Israel has previously announced the deaths in Gaza of Hamas commanders and officials during the war, but Arouri is the most high-profile figure to be killed, and his death came in the first strike on the Lebanese capital since hostilities began.

The strike adds to widespread fears that the nearly three-month-old Israel-Hamas war could become a wider regional conflagration.

In his conversation with Gantz, Macron reiterated his call for a "lasting ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas, the presidency said.

He also expressed again his "deepest concern" at the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza, as well as the humanitarian crisis unfolding inside the Palestinian territory, while at the same time reaffirming "France's commitment to the security of Israel".