Lebanon’s acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed hope on Thursday for de-escalation at the Lebanese border with Israel in order to avoid all-out war between the two states.
“In this difficult time that we are going through, we can only be silent, be patient and pray,” Mikati was quoted by the state-run news agency NNA as saying following a meeting with French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Séjourné, for his part, reiterated France’s support for Lebanon during the meeting, according to NNA.
“What matters to us is working to reduce the escalation,” the French diplomat said after meeting House Speaker Nabih Berri, a main ally of the Iranian-back Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
“This is the message I conveyed to the Lebanese authorities and the same message I will convey to the rest of the countries in the region.
“We hope that the situation will calm down in these very sensitive times.
“What matters to us before anything else is a ceasefire in Gaza, and this is the basic and necessary factor that is indispensable if we want to seek peace in the region,” Séjourné added.
The government in Lebanon is hardly visible or able to act in the current crisis, only being in office on an executive basis with the political leaders using the vacuum to advance their own goals.
Hezbollah acts like a state within a state in the small Mediterranean nation. It has great political influence, and the Lebanese state has little say in the areas it controls. This also includes the south of Lebanon.
According to Hezbollah’s deputy head, US attempts to mediate between his organization and Israel are just a “show.”
In an interview with Hezbollah’s television station al-Manar, Naim Kassem criticized the fact that the US envoy Amos Hochstein did not make a concrete proposal during his visit to Beirut on Wednesday.
Hochstein travelled to Lebanon to advocate for a détente in the military conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Speaker Berri said the meeting with Hochstein had “created positive results,” according to Arab media.
Hochstein himself said after the meeting with Berri: “He and I agree that no more time should be wasted.” There are no longer any “valid reasons” for delays. A deal in the Gaza war would make a “diplomatic solution” possible in Lebanon and prevent the outbreak of a broader war.
Hochstein’s efforts are considered crucial in trying to prevent an even greater escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in daily exchanges of fire since the Gaza war began in October. There have been fatalities on both sides.
Hezbollah has sworn revenge after Israel killed its military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut two weeks ago. A large-scale barrage by Hezbollah on Israel, perhaps in coordination with an attack by Iran, has been expected for days.
Shukr was killed hours before Ismail Haniyeh, chief of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, was killed in Tehran on July 31.
Israel claimed responsibility for the attack on Shukr but has neither confirmed nor denied a role in Haniyeh’s death.
In addition to Hezbollah, Iran and Hamas have also announced retaliation.
