A U.S. envoy said Thursday he was hopeful of a diplomatic solution to end the three-month conflict along the border between Israel and Lebanon after meeting with Lebanese officials in Beirut.
The envoy, Amos Hochstein, met for hours with Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, foreign minister, army commander and speaker of parliament. He later told reporters, "I firmly believe that the people of Lebanon do not want to see an escalation of the current crisis to further conflict."
"We need to find a diplomatic solution that will allow for the Lebanese people to return to their homes in south Lebanon ... as the people of Israel need to be able to return to their homes in their north," Hochstein said.
The Israeli military and Hezbollah militants, for decades designated a terrorist group by the United States, have traded frequent attacks since Hamas launched an assault on southern Israel on October 7.
Israeli shelling has killed at least 25 Lebanese civilians and 140 fighters from Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, while at least nine Israeli troops and four civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
Hochstein went to Israel last week for talks on the fighting, which U.S. officials fear could become a second Mideast flashpoint beyond Israel's war with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
"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," Hochstein said.
He said the U.S. "would like to see a diplomatic solution," and "it is our job to get one."
Israel has said it is giving diplomacy a chance to halt the conflict and so Hezbollah will pull back from the border. Israel has warned that its 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.
Some material in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
