Lebanese foreign minister says Israeli actions on border like 'adding fuel to fire'

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israeli actions along Lebanon's southern border are like adding fuel to the fire, the Lebanese foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a joint news conference in the capital Beirut with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Abdallah Bouhabib emphasized that his country is not seeking war.

"These (Israeli) actions are like adding fuel to the fire. What we want is to ensure calm in the region."

Bouhabib added it is among Lebanon's conditions for Israel – especially in the southern party of his country, bordering Israel – to avoid actions that would escalate tensions, including stopping the killing of journalists and civilians.

Some positions of the Lebanese army and certain villages in the region have come under attack by Israel, he said.

Bouhabib stressed his desire for the conflict to be stopped as soon as possible, otherwise, he said, there will be continued negative consequences for both the people in Gaza and for the region and the world.

He also highlighted the importance of providing fuel, food, medicine, and electricity to the region, adding that without a political solution to the Palestinian issue, there can be no security, calm, or peace in the region.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7, tensions have flared along the Israeli-Lebanese border, with Israeli forces and the Hezbollah group exchanging fire.

Eleven days into the conflict with Palestinian group Hamas, Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over one million people displaced – almost half of Gaza's total population, according to the UN agency for Palestinin refugees, or UNRWA.

The fighting began on Oct. 7 when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased violence by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.

An estimated total of at least 2,848 Palestinians, including 750 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, while the death toll from such Israeli attacks in the West Bank has reached 60.

More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the armed conflict.