US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein said today that a ceasefire in Gaza would not necessarily lead to an automatic end to hostilities along its southern border Lebanon and warned of the risk of conflict escalation.
Hochstein is visiting Beirut as part of diplomatic efforts to end months of fire between Hezbollah and Israel alongside the war in Gaza.
It is the worst conflict on Lebanon's southern border since the 2006 war, sparking fears of a larger confrontation.
“Escalation of violence is in no one's interest, and there is no such thing as a limited war“, he told reporters after a meeting with the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, who is close to Hezbollah.
Hochstein said the tension on the border had increased in recent weeks.
“A temporary ceasefire is not enough. A war on a limited scale cannot be contained“, he said.
The deputy speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Elias Bou Saab, told Reuters he believed the timing of Hochstein's visit signaled progress in efforts toward a Gaza ceasefire.
Hezbollah has publicly said it will stop its attacks on Israel from Lebanon when Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip stops, unless Israel continues to bomb Lebanon.
But Hochstein said a ceasefire in Gaza would not automatically result in calm in southern Lebanon and said he was “hopeful” for a diplomatic solution to the conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border.
“It's not necessarily the case that when you have a ceasefire in Gaza, it just automatically extends” in Lebanon, he said.
Source: News Beast
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