Lebanon working on diplomatic solution to border conflict with Israel: PM

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday that he is working on a diplomatic solution to end the confrontations with the Israeli army on the southern border.

"We have reiterated that we seek permanent stability and call for a permanent peaceful solution," Mikati said in an interview with local media, voicing Lebanon's readiness to enter negotiations to achieve long-term stability in its southern part.

Mikati said Lebanon is ready to cooperate and abide by the UN Resolution 1701 issued in 2006, which called for an end to hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, "provided that it receives necessary guarantees that Israeli aggressions will not continue."

Also on Monday, Israeli heavy artillery fire targeted Lebanon's southern villages of Tayr Harfa, Houla, and Yarine. Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters attacked the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied Shebaa Farms, the Shtula area in northern Israel, and another Israeli site of Jal-Al-Alam.

Hezbollah announced earlier in the day that a high-level commander and another member of the military group were killed in an Israeli drone attack targeting their car in Lebanon's southern village of Khirbet Selm.

The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing increased tension since October 8, 2023, after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of a Hamas attack on Israel the previous day, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

The current confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 209 people on the Lebanese side, including 154 Hezbollah members and 35 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources.

(Cover: Smoke rises over buildings on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese border village of Khiam following a reported Israeli bombardment, January 7, 2024. /CFP)