Diplomacy 'only way' to end Hezbollah, 'Israel' fighting: US envoy
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During a visit to Beirut, US envoy Amos Hochstein hold talks with senior Lebanese officials in a push to halt fighting along the border with occupied Palestine.
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US special envoy Amos Hochstein delivers a statement following his meeting with Lebanon's Parliament Speaker in Beirut on March 4, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
A US envoy stressed on Monday that a diplomatic solution was key to ending nearly five months of intensifying fighting between the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah and the Israeli occupation forces after the eruption of the war on the Gaza Strip.
"A diplomatic solution is the only way to end the current hostilities" and achieve "a lasting fair security arrangement between Lebanon and Israel," Washington's envoy Amos Hochstein told reporters in Beirut, adding that "a temporary ceasefire is not enough."
"A limited war is not containable," he said after meeting with parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri.
Hochstein held talks with other senior officials including Prime Minister Najib Mikati and army chief Joseph Aoun in a push to halt fighting along the border with occupied Palestine.
He said that finding a diplomatic solution "is not just an American effort," claiming that Washington was working with "global partners... to advance opportunities for prosperity and stability in Lebanon."
Hochstein said there would be international support for Lebanon, including its military and crisis-hit economy, "but this can only start when we can reach a way forward."
Hezbollah's Deputy Chief Sheikh Naim Qassem earlier Monday reiterated that the Lebanese Resistance group would stop its operations against the Israeli occupation once the aggression on the Gaza Strip ends.
"Stop the assault on Gaza and war will end in the region," he indicated.
Hochstein claimed the United States was working "tirelessly" for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
But Israeli occupation Security Minister Yoav Gallant said in late February that there would be no let up in Israeli attacks on south Lebanon and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah, even if a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal is secured with the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza.
Hezbollah has launched operations in support of the Palestinian people and their Resistance in the Gaza Strip since October 8, 2023, raking in more than 1,000 operations against Israeli military assets and personnel.
Despite efforts made by Western diplomats to put an end to Hezbollah's support for Palestine, the Resistance party remains committed to its obligations, which it says stem from moral and religious grounds, as well as the national interests of Lebanon and the Arab and Islamic nation at large.
A major Israeli demand delivered to Lebanese and Hezbollah officials is concerned with the withdrawal of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force beyond the Litani River north of the Lebanese-Palestinian border.
In this context, Hochstein warned that a ceasefire in Gaza might not "automatically" extend to Lebanon, adding, "That is why we're here today."
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