© Reuters. Senior White House adviser Amos Hochstein speaks after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon January 11, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/ File Photo
BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein said on Thursday he was hopeful diplomacy could calm tensions on the disputed border between Lebanon and Israel, where the Israeli military and armed group Hezbollah have been exchanging fire for three months.
Hochstein met Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, foreign minister, army commander and speaker of parliament in an hours-long visit to the Lebanese capital on Thursday.
“I firmly believe that the people of Lebanon do not want to see an escalation of the current crisis to further conflict,” he told reporters in Beirut.
Israeli shelling has killed at least 25 Lebanese civilians and 140 fighters from Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. At least nine Israeli troops have been killed in northern Israel.
Hochstein went to Israel last week for talks on the issue.
“I’m hopeful that we can continue to work on this effort to arrive together, all of us on both sides of the border, with a solution that will allow for all people in Lebanon and Israel to live with guaranteed security and return to a better future,” he said.
Hochstein said the U.S. “would like to see a diplomatic solution,” and “it is our job to get one.”
Washington fears Israel’s war in Gaza could spread violence across the region, with armed groups backed by Israel’s arch-rival Iran launching solidarity attacks in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Israel has said it is giving a chance for diplomacy to prevent Hezbollah firing on people living in its north and to push Hezbollah back from the border, warning that the Israeli army will otherwise take action to achieve these aims.
Hezbollah has said it does not seek to initiate a wider war, but that it would not hold back if Israel waged a broader assault on Lebanon.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, has said his country is ready for talks on long-term stability on its southern border with Israel.
