Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Tehran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2, to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"We appreciate the importance of the issue for the president and the importance of his responsibility in finally deciding that he must meet with the Israelis, because matters are not resolved without talking," Michel Issa told journalists following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai in Beirut.

"Each party has their point of view of how meetings start," he said, however adding that he believed Israel "has decided not to stop" striking Lebanon yet.

"That means Lebanon has to decide whether it can meet the Israelis in this case," he said.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun on March 9 proposed direct talks with Israel, but Israel has since said there are no talks planned.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke with Lebanese leaders last week, expressed hope on Thursday that Israel would agree to direct talks with Beirut, and offered to host talks in Paris.

Lebanon's health ministry says the latest war has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million more.