SAO PAULO (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron has accepted an invitation from Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and will visit the South American country in the first half of 2024, Brazil's government said on Friday.

The leaders discussed the crisis in the Middle East by phone earlier in the day, agreeing that they will continue to search for ways to promote peace, Brazil's presidential office said in a statement.

"The two presidents agreed on the need for Hamas to immediately release hostages and on the terrible toll inflicted by the conflict on Palestinian and Israeli children," the statement said.

"They expressed concern about the risks of an escalation."

France earlier this week voted for a Brazilian-drafted resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The United States vetoed the resolution.

The leaders also discussed the deal reached between Venezuela's government and opposition parties for the 2024 election, which led the U.S. to broadly ease sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector.

"Both presidents indicated satisfaction with the agreement," the statement said.

Lula and Macron met in July in Brussels with the Venezuelan government and the opposition to discuss the country's upcoming election. The presidents of Argentina and Colombia also participated.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan and Rod Nickel)