By John Irish and Maya Gebeily
PARIS (Reuters) - Lebanon's caretaker prime minister pleaded in Paris on Thursday for support for his nation's army which would help secure any ceasefire, but a low-level U.S. presence at the conference in France and a looming U.S. election dimmed prospects for a swift halt to fighting.
Some 70 government delegations and 15 international organisations met in Paris aiming to raise at least 500 million euros in humanitarian aid and push for a ceasefire, but with the U.S. focused on its own efforts, diplomats said they expect little concrete progress.
"The storm we are currently witnessing is unlike any other, because it carries the seeds of total destruction, not only for our country, but for all human values as well," Lebanon's Najib Mikati told delegates.
Mikati said international support would be needed to shore up the army, including new recruits, and to rebuild the country's destroyed infrastructure.
France has historical ties with Lebanon and has been working with Washington in trying to secure a ceasefire.
But after Israel rebuffed a 21-day ceasefire plan in September, Paris' influence has been limited since Israel launched its large-scale onslaught on Iran-backed Hezbollah that has killed more than 2,000 people and displaced at least 1.2 million.
Opening the conference, France's President Emmanuel Macron said there would not be a return to the past in Lebanon and that a U.N. Security Council resolution that had failed to keep the peace would need to be fully implemented.
"There needs to be a ceasefire in Lebanon. More damage, more victims, more strikes will not enable the end of terrorism or ensure security for everyone," he said.
Despite the repeated calls for a ceasefire, there appeared no sign on Thursday of the conflict abating.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who skipped the Paris conference, continued a tour of the Middle East on a final push for peace before next month's U.S. election, while regional power Saudi Arabia, which has been reluctant to engage in Lebanon, sent a junior minister.
Neither Israel, whose prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, criticised the initiative, nor Iran were invited.
Macron said France would provide 100 million euros ($108 million) in aid, while Germany said it would give 96 million euros. France's foreign ministry said the conference aimed to raise at least 500 million euros to primarily help up to one million displaced with food, healthcare and education.
Lebanon says it needs $250 million a month to deal with the crisis.
STRENGTHEN U.N. FORCES, LEBANESE ARMY
Much of the focus in Paris is on the need to cease hostilities on the basis of the 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.
The priority, officials said, is to begin ramping up support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), deemed as the guarantor of internal stability, but also vital to implementing 1701.
"The final objective is to recruit, train and equip 6,000 new LAF units," an Italian diplomatic source said, adding that Rome would soon organise its own conference focused on this.
Italy has some 1,000 troops as part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. Diplomats say that once there is a ceasefire the mission will need to be made more robust.
Paris is also pushing Lebanese actors -- despite reluctance from some -- to move forward on the election of a president to fill a two-year power vacuum before a ceasefire.
Quite what can be achieved on the political front is unclear, diplomats said, although France touts its direct contacts with Hezbollah and Iran as an advantage compared to U.S. mediation efforts.
Coordination between Paris and Washington has been difficult in recent weeks. European and Arab nations are critical that Washington is not calling for an immediate ceasefire and fear the administration will not alter that position before the election on Nov. 5.
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